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Dr. AFFONSO AUGUSTO MOREIRA PENNA 
ek Ie d; a 
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Berane Mw 
(2a An Sees, 
eae ‘ ‘ 


SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED 


fae NEW BRAZIL 


ITS RESOURCES AND ATTRACTIONS 


HISTOR CAD ESE RTE Ea AND SUNDUS TRIAL 


BY 


MARIE ROBINSON WRIGHT 


MEMBER OF THE GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA, GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY OF BRAZIL, HISTORICAL AND 
SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTE OF SAO PAULO, GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY OF LA PAZ 


AUTHOR OF 


HGhORESOUENMEXICO:” HE REPUBLIC.OER CHILE. BOLIVIA; THE HISTORY OF PERU, ETC. 


THE LIBRARY OF THE 
APR 20 1925 


UNIVERSITY 8F ILLINOIS 


PHILADELPHIA : PRINTED ANDY PUBLISHED BY 


GEORGE BARRIE & SONS 


LONDON: C. D. CAZENOVE & SON, 26 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, W. C. 
PARIS: 19 RUE SCRIBE 


COPYRIGHT, 1907, BY GEORGE BARRIE & SONS ~ 


4 


TOSHISsEXCELLENGY 


Dr. Affonso Auqusto fHMoreira Penna 
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. QF BRAZIL 


WHOSE ADMINISTRATION MARKS AN EPOCH OF EXTRAORDINARY PROGRESS IN THE ANNALS OF HIS COUNTRY 


fs Dedicated 


THIS BOOK DESCRIPTIVE OF A NATION THAT HAS GROWN GREAT AND PROSPEROUS 
THROUGH PEACEFUL DEVELOPMENT 


975298 


CONEENUS 


BEDICA LONGER taketh ia omen hs Ra, Bed 5 
EIST OGMLLUSTRATIONS yg acta ences as & 9 
INTRODUCTION Mate. St Ba NARA ee ns 
CHAPTER | 
EARLY HISTORY AND TRADITION. ...... . pe Si7. 
CHAPTER II 
NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE 2505) 2 45 44024 - 30 
CHAPTER III 
THE FALL OF THE EMPIRE AND THE GENESIS OF 
ANGQEY Jeo es ABR EVONG. 6 oc 6 eA oe oo ae Nelo coe one 
CHAPTER IV 
THE FIRST DAYS OF THE REPUBLIC ........ 79 
CHAPTER V 
THE CIVIL PRESIDENTS AND EARLY STATESMEN . . 95 
GHAPTERSV | 
THE PRESIDENT’S: CABINETORP ara Gi =e = & we 115 
CHAPTER VII 
THE NE W-REDERAL CAPITA) 2 kat ne 129 


CHAPTER VIII 
THE SUBURBS OF RIO AND THE BOTANICAL GARDEN 151 


GHAPTERSIX 
MUSIC, ART; AND LITERATURE = = - 3 3 es 2 . 165 


PAGE 


CHAPTER X 

TWRVE SHANE OR IOs oe oe Se oe Oe eo IRSY/ 
CHAPTER XI 

SAO@OBRA WEO icprce acti Bee Can et toe R na) Bocas ie 203 
CHAPTER XII 

SCHOOLS AND) CHARITIES OF SAO PAULO => = =: 221 
CHAPTER XIII 


AGRICULTURE AND COLONIZATION IN SAO PAULO . 235 


GHAPTER XIV. 
COPBEES (amass et rece fe Fett ie cater caeretosd Poach gle 253 


CHAPTER XV 
RAILWAY TRAVEL IN SAO PAULO ....- . eee 207 


CHAPTER XVI 


MINAS GE RAB Scamocmeae (Mtge ne. Sere, Teo tthe, GY oe 270 
CHAPTER XVII 

THEDE, WINNIE S OIE TIQUNS (QUIRES). GG 6 Go a a doe so 297 
CHAPTER XVIII 

PARANA Tuer NaAe A nun Ges oe By ae ich Hew 3 311 
GCHAPTER XIX 

THES VERBAWMATET OF PARANA) 2.6 © mm cee & 327 
GHAPTER EX 

SVAINDUN YORMNSUMRIININ 5. 5 co @ ceo bo 6 Soboo uw ae 337 


8 
PAGE 
CHAPTER: XXxI 
RIOLGRANDESDOTSUIEM Sy 2 ios ie niacin eee 349 
CHAPTER XXII 
THE NATIONAL REVENUE, COMMERCE, AND TRANS- 
PORTAT ION Seen eae, oes er ee eee ee, 365 
CHAPTER excl 
AMAZONAS meres ols Repu cee cums: wen hu acre) rene ts eee 379 


CHAPTER XXIV 
THE ACRE TERRITORY AND THE RUBBER INDUSTRY 307 


CHAPTER XXV 
PARAS cas. Lhe, cae eee oe oe Pe ee 1 Se 400 


NIVARYNMIGUNOl 1s. 5 dea Deo G Seo wae o Bb aw 8 6 423 


CHAPTER XXVII 
MATTO GROSSO, GOYAZ, AND PIAUHY . . ee 20) 


CHAPTER XXVIII 
CEARA =) = 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER XXIX 
RIOEGRAND 2S ORIN © Ry isgeemee eae ee en et 


CHAPTER XXX 
PARA YBAVAND §SERGIP Eee eo: n ttle teint aanranrc 


CHAPTER XXX] 


PERNAMBUCO eal 2 acts Mme tne cro. 2, Beit unr mete 
CHAPTER XXXII 

ABAGO AS Bop age < tt as ee eo a ee ee 
CHAPTER XXXII 

BAHIA? fo cs eso cece EO aay een AM ek Oey a mr eC 


CHAPTER XXXV 
OLD ICHURGHES FANDESHRINES memes li: itt nne ie 


[LP ENVOI> = Be ae ee en ere ee ee 


PAGE 


“ 


Be) eee AGOINS 


DR. AFFONSO AUGUSTO MOREIRA PENNA, PRESI- 
DENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF BRAZIL Fronts. 
MONUMENT OF PEDRO ALVARES CABRAL . 


DOM JOAO VI., KING OF PORTUGAL, BRAZIL, AND 
ALGARVES . 
DOM PEDRO lI., EMPEROR OF BRAZIL 


FOUNDATION STONE OF RIO DE JANEIRO 
ENTRANCE TO THE HARBOR OF RIO. 
DOM PEDRO II., EMPEROR OF BRAZIL . 


PAGE 


RUSTIC BRIDGE INS TRE SGARDENS OFS hie PRESI- u 


DENT’S PALACE, RIO. 
CATTETE PALACE, RESIDENCE OF THE PRESIDENT . 
GRAND SALON, CATTETE PALACE, RIO . 
RECEPTION ROOM IN CATTETE PALACE 
IN THE GARDENS OF CATTETE PALACE 
STATUE OF DOM PEDRO I. 
PROCLAMATION OF THE INDEPENDENCE « OF > BRAZIL 
STATUE OF THE VISCOUNT DE RIO-BRANCO . . 
YPIRANGA MONUMENT, SAO PAULO .. . 
INTERIOR VIEW OF YPIRANGA . . 
CORRIDOR OF YPIRANGA . : 
NATIONAL MUSEUM, SAO CHRISTOVAO, RIO : 
THE CROWN-PRINCESS ISABEL . 
VISCOUNT DE RIO-BRANCO 
DR. ANTONIO DA SILVA PRADO 
DR. JOAO ALFREDO CORREA DE OLIVEIRA . 
OLD CARIOCA AQUEDUCT, RIO .- 
OLD CARIOCA eee te SEEN FROM BELOW . 
THE GAVEA 
THE ISLAND OF PAQUETA, HOME OF ‘ANDRADA 
BRITISH PLENIPOTENTIARY DELIVERING HIS SOVER- 

EIGN’S RECOGNITION OF THE EMPIRE OF BRAZIL 
PALACE OF AGRICULTURE, RIO DE JANEIRO . 
MONUMENT OF THE DUKE DE CAXIAS . 
THE STOCK EXCHANGE, RIO DE JANEIRO 
THE POST OFFICE, RIO DE JANEIRO . 
MISERICORDIA HOSPITAL, RIO DE JANEIRO - 
RUA DO OUVIDOR, RIO DE JANEIRO .- . 
THE INSANE ASYLUM, RIO DE JANEIRO .- 
A GLIMPSE OF THE OLD CARIOCA SQUARE 
VISTA IN THE PARK, RIO DE JANEIRO 


GENERAL VIEW OF RIO DE JANEIRO . 

STATUE OF GENERAL OSORIO 

NATIONAL MINT, RIO DE JANEIRO . . : 
MARSHAL FONSECA, FIRST PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL ; 
MARSHAL PEIXOTO, SECOND PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL 
PRACA DA REPUBLICA, RIO DE JANEIRO. . 
MILITARY SCHOOL, RIO DE JANEIRO . 

IN THE PASSEIO PUBLICO, RIO DE JANEIRO 
COAT-OF-ARMS, BRAZIL : 

NATIONAL TREASURY, RIO DE JANEIRO 3% 
PRUDENTE MORAES, FIRST CIVIL PRESIDENT . 


DR. 

DR. CAMPOS-SALLES, PRESIDENT, 1898-1902 . 

DR. RODRIGUES ALVES, PRESIDENT, ey 

DR. PECANHA, VICE-PRESIDENT 

DR. NABUCO, AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES 
DR. RUY BARBOSA . 

DR. QUINTINO BOCAYUVA 


THE SUPREME COURT, RIO DE JANEIRO .- 
DR. LAURO MULLER 

ADMIRAL MAURITY, COMMANDER OF WHE SFEEET 
DR. FRANCISCO ROSA E SILVA . 

PALMS IN GARDEN OF ITAMARATY PALACE, RIO. 
SMALL RECEPTION ROOM, ITAMARATY PALACE 
YELLOW SALON OF ITAMARATY PALACE .« sat 
GARDEN OF ITAMARATY PALACE . 

BARON DE RIO-BRANCO, FOREIGN MINISTER - 
GREEN AND GOLD SALON, ITAMARATY PALACE 
ITAMARATY PALACE, THE FOREIGN OFFICE 
CORRIDOR LEADING TO LIBRARY, ITAMARATY PALACE 
DR. LYRA, MINISTER OF JUSTICE AND INTERIOR . 
FACADE OF THE LIBRARY, ITAMARATY PALACE 

DR. CAMPISTA, FINANCE MINISTER - 

DR. ALMEIDA, MINISTER OF COMMERCE . 
INTERIOR OF THE LIBRARY, ITAMARATY PALACE . 
MARSHAL FONSECA, MINISTER OF WAR 
ADMIRAL ALENCAR, MINISTER OF MARINE .- 
THE ROSE SALON, ITAMARATY PALACE . 
THE AVENIDA BEIRA-MAR, RIO . 

DR. FRANCISCO PEREIRA PASSOS 

MONROE PALACE, RIO . 

ARRIVAL IN RIO OF SECRETARY ROOT . 


10 LIST OF LLCS TRATIONS 


BARON DE RIO-BRANCO, OPENING THE THIRD PAN- 
AMERICAN CONGRESS AT RIO, JUNE 27, 1906 - 

AVENIDA BEIRA-MAR FROM THE PRAIA DA LAPA . 

THE NEW AVENIDA CENTRAL, RIO DE JANEIRO 

AVENIDA CENTRAL, LOOKING TOWARD BEIRA-MAR . 

OBELISK OF THE AVENIDA CENTRAL . 

CORCOVADO, SEEN FROM AVENIDA BEIRA- MAR 

RUA URUGUAYANA, RIO DE JANEIRO - 

PRAIA DA GLORIA, SHOWING RIO-BRANCO STATUE . 

MUNICIPAL THEATRE, RIO ono) yo) Four 

GENERAL AGUIAR, PREFECT OF RIO er, (Orr : 

AVENIDA OF PALMS ON THE CANAL DO MANGUE 

DR. OSWALDO CRUZ. - 

CANAL DO MANGUE .. .« 

POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL .- 

PRACA DA GLORIA . < 

CORCOVADO, FROM SYLVESTRE . 

DR. RODRIGUES, DIRECTOR OF BOTANICAL GARDEN 

THE SUMMIT OF CORCOVADO . . 

SCENE EN ROUTE TO CORCOVADO 

GRAND CASCADE OF TIJUCA. . . 

A PATHWAY IN SYLVESTRE. . 

TIIUCA FOREST eo 

HOTEL INTERNACIONAL AT ‘SANTA THERESA . 

VISTARAT SS VEVESTRE 

STREET LEADING TO THE BOTANICAL GARDEN . 

SCENE IN THE BOTANICAL GARDEN 

THE BAMBOOS, BOTANICAL GARDEN . 

‘*PEACE AND CONCORD.” ALLEGORICAL PAINTING 
BY PEDRO AMERICO . 

STATUE OF JOSE BONIFACIO DE ANDRADA 

THE BRAZILIAN ACADEMY OF LETTERS 

GONCALVES DIAZ 

THE OLD NATIONAL LIBRARY 

THE NEW NATIONAL LIBRARY 

BERNARDELLI MODELLING BUST OF DR. PASSOS . 

PEDRO AMERICO. . 

‘“HONOR AND COUNTRY.” 

PEDRO WEINGARTNER .- Boe avec ON boltoh or ag bac 

““THE COUNTRY BALL.’? BY PEDRO WEINGARTNER 

THE BERNARDELLI BROTHERS .. . 

““MANIOC.”’? BY MODESTO BROCOS. . 

“DURING THE REST.” BY FERRAZ D’ ALMEIDA 

CARLOS GOMES : 

DR. MACHADO DE ASSIS . 

OFFICE OF ‘‘JORNAL DO COMMERCIO,’ u RIO. 

DR. JOSE CARLOS RODRIGUES, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF 
THE ““JORNAL DO COMMERCIO”’. . 

DR. OLAVO BILAC 

OFFICE OF THE NEWSPAPER ae PAIZ, ee RIO . 

DR. RODRIGO OCTAVIO 

STATUE OF JOSE DE ALENCAR . 

PETROPOLIS . . ae 

DR. BACKER, PRESIDENT ¢ OF THE STATE OF RIO : 

ROUTE TO PETROPOLIS Secrets 2). Sis 

SUMMER PALACE OF DOM PEDRO Ney “PETROPOLIS : 

THE AMERICAN EMBASSY, PETROPOLIS . 

A MOUNTAIN DRIVEWAY IN PETROPOLIS . 

THE PUBLIC LIBRARY, PETROPOLIS ~ 

RIVER SCENE IN PETROPOLIS 

GERMAN LEGATION, PETROPOLIS . 

PRAIA DE ICARAHY, NICTHEROY . 

ANCHIETA COLLEGE, NOVA FRIBURGO .- 


BY PEDRO AMERICO . 


PAGE 


132 


133 


134 
135 

36 
137 
138 
139 
140 
I4I 
142 
143 
145 
147 
148 
150 
I5I 
153 
154 
155 
156 
157 
158 
159 
160 
161 
162 


164 
165 
167 
168 
169 
170 
17I 
172 
72) 
173 
174 
175 
175 
176 
176 
Hoey 
178 


180 
181 
182 
183 
184 
186 
187 
188 
189 
190 
IQI 
192 
193 
194 
195 
196 


LYCEUM AND NORMAL SCHOOL, CAMPOS . 

WATERFALL AT THEREZOPOLIS . 

THREE-RAIL TRACK ON LEOPOLDINA RAILROAD 

SACCO DE SAO FRANCISCO, SUBURB OF NICTHEROY 

DR. FERREIRA, SECRETARY OF Oe oo STATE 
OF RIO . : 

A MILITARY REVIEW, SAO PAULO 

DR. TIBIRICA, PRESIDENT OF SAO PAULO . 

PALACE OF AGRICULTURE AND STATE TREASURY .- 

DR. BOTELHO, SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE 

RUA DIREITA, SAO PAULO : 

DR. ALBUQUERQUE LINS, SECRETARY. OF FINANCE . 

DR. WASHINGTON LUIZ, SECRETARY OF JUSTICE .- 

AVENIDA TIRADENTES, SAO PAULO . 

MUNICIPAL THEATRE, SAO PAULO . 

PALACETE ELIAS CHAVES, SAO PAULO . 

AVENIDA PAULISTA, SAO PAULO . 

RUA SAO BENTO, SAO PAULO 

MODERN OFFICE BUILDING, SAO PAULO . 

SCENE IN THE JARDIM DA LUZ, SAO PAULO . 

THE VACCINE INSTITUTE, SAO PAULO 

GATEWAY TO THE QUARTEL . 

RESIDENCE OF COUNT ALVARES PENTEADO . 

SANTA CECILIA, A SUBURB OF SAO PAULO . 

PARK OF THE EPISCOPAL SEMINARY . 

DR GODOY> SECRETARY, OFs THESINTERIOR 

EPISCOPAL SEMINARY 

NORMAL SCHOOL 

KINDERGARTEN, SAO PAULO . 

PRUDENTE MORAES SCHOOL . SEE 

POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL, SAO PAULO . . 

MODEL SCHOOL OF BRAZ . 

COLLEGE OF LAW, SAO PAULO 

MORAES BARROS SCHOOL . 

MACKENZIE COLLEGE ons 

MISERICORDIA HOSPITAL, SAO PAULO oe 

CORRIDOR OF MISERICORDIA HOSPITAL . 

INSANE ASYLUM AT JUQUERY 

MILITARY HOSPITAL, SAO PAULO . 

SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE, AT PIRACICABA 

PIRACICABA CASCADE, SAO PAULO . . 

CLASS AT WORK, SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE . ; 

A PINEAPPLE PLANTATION, STATE OF SAO PAULO . 

MANGO ORCHARD AT RIBEIRAO PRETO 

GRAPE CULTURE, CAMPINAS . 

RICE GROWING ON A SAO PAULO PLANTATION 

WATERFALL NEAR BROTAS. . 

POWDERING MANGO TREES . 

CUTTING SUGAR CANE, SAO PAULO 

WATERMELONS READY FOR SHIPMENT . 

GLIMPSE OF A SAO PAULO FOREST 

OFFICE OF COLONIZATION . . 

HOTEL FOR IMMIGRANTS, SAO PAULO . 

A CHEERFUL GROUP OF IMMIGRANTS . 

COLONIST’S HOUSE, STATE OF SAO PAULO . 

FIRST GLIMPSE OF THEIR ADOPTED LAND . 

HARVESTING HE COFFEE CROP . 

A COFFEE TREE AT HARVEST TIME 

FOREIGN VISITORS PICKING COFFEE . 

A TYPICAL COFFEE FAZENDA . 

FAMILIAR SCENE ON A COFFEE PLANTATION . 

DRYING COFFEE - 

A STREET IN CAMPINAS 


ES eOmelLUSTRATIONS 


WEIGHING COFFEE FOR SHIPMENT AT SANTOS 


LOADING COFFEE AT SANTOS 

SENHOR DOM FRANCISCO SCHMIDT . 

AN AVENUE OF COFFEE TREES : 
THE SAO PAULO RAILWAY STATION “puz” 


VIEW OF THE CITY AND HARBOR OF SANTOS . 
VIADUCT BETWEEN SAO PAULO AND SANTOS 
CABLE ROAD BETWEEN SAO PAULO AND SANTOS . 


VIEW ON THE SAO PAULO RAILWAY . 
LIGHT AND POWER STATION, PARNAHYBA . 


RAILWAY AT SANTOS, SHOWING THE DOCKS . 
MAYRINK, SHOWING RAILWAY WORKMEN’S HOMES . 


VIEW ON THE SOROCABANA LINE . . 
SOROCABANA STATION OF BARRA FUNDA 
SCENE ON THE RIVER TIETE - 


THE GOVERNMENT PALACE AT BELLO HORIZONTE . 

DR. JOAO PINHEIRO DA SILVA, PRESIDENT OF MINAS 
DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR, STATE OF MINAS GERAES 
STREET SCENE IN BELLO HORIZONTE =e 
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, BELLO HORIZONTE 


GOLEEGE TOR. LAW = 
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE . 


BIRTHPLACE OF PRESIDENT AFFONSO PENNA 
CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, BELLO HORIZONTE . 


WATERFALL IN PARK, BELLO HORIZONTE 


OURO PRETO, FORMER CAPITAL OF MINAS GERAFS 


JUIZ DE FORA, MINAS GERAES . 


NATIONAL CERAMIC FACTORY, MINAS GERAES . 


THE PARK OF CAXAMBU . F 
MINERAL SPRING ‘“‘ISABEL PRINCEZA” . 
MINERAL SPRING ‘‘ DUQUE DE SAXE”’ 
THE POST OFFICE, BELLO HORIZONTE . 
QUARRY AT MORRO VELHO 

A DIAMOND MINER’S HUT . 
DIAMANTINA, MINAS GERAES. . F 
CHARITY HOSPITAL OF DIAMANTINA . 
A STREET SCENE IN DIAMANTINA 
CONDUIT FOR DIAMOND MINING PURPOSES . 
WASHING DIAMONDS . 

SCENE NEAR MORRO VELHO . 


CASCADE IN THE VICINITY OF BELLO HORIZONTE . : 


ARASSUAHY MINING DISTRICT . . 


MINAS NOVAS MINING DISTRICT, MINAS GERAES . 


MINAS NOVAS, MINAS GERAES . 


COLLEGE OF OUR LADY OF SORROWS, DIAMANTINA 


THE FALLS OF IGUASSU 

THE GYMNASIUM, CURYTIBA . 

RUA QUINZE DE NOVEMBRO . 

THE GOVERNMENT PALACE 
PROVIDENCE COLLEGE .- 

PRACA GENERAL OSORIO 

THE HOUSE OF CONGRESS . 

A PUBLIC GARDEN . ; 

THE CATHEDRAL, CURYTIBA é 
VIADUCT ON THE PARANA RAILWAY . 
VIEW ALONG THE PARANA RAILWAY. . . 
HE POST OFFICE, CURYTIBA 

THE AMERICAN CHURCH . 


VINEYARD OF DR. MOURA, NEAR CURYTIBA . 


STREET SCENE IN PARANAGUA . 
THE MUNICIPAL CHAMBER. .- 
RUA GENERAL CARNEIRO 
RAILROAD BRIDGE OF CASTRO . 


PONTA GROSSA, PARANA 
WATERFALL NEAR CURYTIBA, PARANA . 
RIVER BOAT LOADED WITH YERBA MATE 


INDIANS CARRYING YERBA MATE TO THE MILL 


YERBA MATE TREES ~ 


CATARACT ‘‘ VISCONDE DE RIO- BRANCO, ae PARANA . 


MAMMOTH ROCKS AT VILLA VELHA, PARANA 
TRANSPORTING YERBA MATE FOR SHIPMENT 
MATE BLOSSOMS : 

CUYAS, MATE DRINKING VESSELS 


PLANT THAT SUPPLIES HIS FAVORITE BEVERAGE . 


BRIDGE OVER THE IGUASSU RIVER 
RAILWAY STATION AT PONTA GROSSA . 
THE PINES OF PARANA . 


FLORIANOPOLIS, CAPITAL OF SANTA ¢ CATHARINA .- 
STAIRWAY, GOVERNMENT PALACE, FLORIANOPOLIS 


GOVERNMENT PALACE, FLORIANOPOLIS 
PRINCIPAL PARK OF FLORIANOPOLIS 

IX MUI OF IMsls, (NAG Vl: 
THE MARKET PLACE . 
BOCAYUVA AVENUE . 
THE MUNICIPAL CHAMBER. . 
THE CATHEDRAL . . 
FLORIANOPOLIS FROM THE BAY .- 
THE STATE TREASURY . . 

THE CUSTOM HOUSE . 

LAKE AT BLUMENAU, SANTA CATHARINA . 


PICTURESQUE CASCADE IN SANTA CATHARINA . 


DR. BLUMENAU STREET, BLUMENAU . 


PRACA GENERAL DEODORO, PORTO ALEGRE . 

CHURCH IN PORTO ALEGRE, RIO GRANDE DO SUL . 
GENERAL VIEW OF PORTO ALEGRE, THE CAPITAL . 
INTERIOR OF GOVERNMENT PALACE, PORTO ALEGRE 


DOCKS AT PORTO ALEGRE . 


MUNICIPAL THEATRE, PORTO ALEGRE . - - .- 


A STREET SCENE IN THE CAPITAL . . 
THE MUNICIPAL CHAMBER . 5 
PORTUGUESE HOSPITAL AND CHURCH . 
LYCEUM AND PUBLIC LIBRARY 

RUA MARECHAL PEIXOTO 

THE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING 

A CENTRAL THOROUGHFARE, PELOTAS . 
ENTRANCE TO THE PARK, PELOTAS 
QUARTEL, CITY OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL . 
THE LANDING PLACE . Cas bes 
A VIEW OF THE PUBLIC GARDEN 
MISERICORDIA HOSPITAL .- 

TAMANDARE PARK . 


LIGHTHOUSE OF ITAPOAN, NEAR PORTO ALEGRE . 


TABATINGA, MILITARY POST 
OBSERVATION ENGINE .- 


HALL OF ROYAL MAIL STEAMER “ ARAGUAYA” 


ROYAL. MAIL STEAMER ‘‘ ARAGUAYA”’ 


RIO STATION, CENTRAL RAILWAY OF BRAZIL 


BOA VISTA BRIDGE . 


OFFICES OF LLOYD BRAZILEIRO STEAMSHIP CO., RIO 
SALON OF ROYAL MAIL STEAMER “ ARAGUAYA” . 


TRANSPORTATION ON THE RIO NEGRO . 


THE JANGADA, PRIMITIVE TRANSPORTATION . 


AMAZONAS THEATRE, MANAOS . 
STATUE OF TENREIRO ARANHA . 


COLONEL NERY, GOVERNOR OF AMAZONAS . 


PALACE OF JUSTICE, MANAOS 


12 LISTROP ILLUS ERATIONS 


PAGE | PAGE 
VESTIBULE OF THE PALACE OF JUSTICE, MANAOS . 382 | RAILROAD BRIDGE OF ACARAHU, CEARA....- . - 438 
PALAGE OFATHESG OVERNOR arate aetna aera eS RUA COMMERCIO, NATAL ... .- Serb nee AO) 
PSININWSINIGUNRE A ooo Bo oh mG OH 0 a 6 5 5 6 eo oo BheMh RUA SENADOR JOSE BONIFACIO, NATAL es nee 440 
RUASMUNIGIP AT an-secerce son) esta iyi Oana ean mee Mr . 385 CONVENT OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY, VILLA 
THE | CATHEDRA@aysaee (hy ce ohne Sam SO) DE “ESTREMOZoe cea eae ee ee ne AT 
THESGYMNASIOUM rete FHo eo oe oo om Shy QUARTEL, NATAL... .-.- AA 
AVENIDA EDUARDO RIBEIRO . So 8 eb wo oo 5 o Bhefel INTERIOR OF CARMO CHURCH, ‘PARAHYBA . eee AAS 
SYLVERIOUNERWEs CHO © lic aa aicent itn ee mene OO) PALACE OF THE GOVERNOR, ARACAJU...... . 444 
AMAZON NAVIGATION MONUMENT ......-.- +. - 390 GATHEDRAUS ARAGALW ica ane mne ee- 5 
PUBLIC ARCHIVES AND LIBRARY... .- . Pia a ot BO COTTON UMILLS, SERGIPE ema. 446 
MONUMENT OF BARON SANTA ANNA NERY mes 302 DR. SIGISMUNDO ANTONIO GONCALVES, GOVERNOR 
BENJAMIN CONSTANT INSTITUTE. ----..- - - 393 OF PERNAMBUCO) 2] = =: Labs estat ere AAG! 
LANDING FLOAT, MANAOS HARBOR ...... =. . 304 PUBLIC SQUARE, SETE DE SETEMBRO =) eRe 449 
MILITARY QUARTEL, MANAOS .. . . 3905 AN IMPORTANT BUSINESS STREET IN PERNAMBUCO 450 
DR. MANOEL F. SA ANTUNES, SECRETARY OF STATE, RAMOS) QUAYS )=3 0 =e J fh aso fora (ZI 
AMAZONAS = = =) Ga 390 SANTA ISABEL BRIDGE, PERNAMBUCO eee na e452 
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STEAM LAUNCHES IN THE ALTO PURUS, ACRE . 5 9 ASS) GENERAL VIEWSOFRMMAGEIO ming stitute tna mnmnr a 5 7 
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OFFICE OF THE NEWSPAPER “A PROVINCIA”? ee ATS WOOD-CARVING OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 478 
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CHURCH IN CUYABA, CAPITAL OF MATTO GROSSO . 431 A CONTENTED SON OF THE FOREST . 3m Ae 491 
OXSTEAM. PIAUIH Vem ene le Soo a “eyh A GOOD DAY’S SPORT, TAPIR HUNTING IN THE RIO 
LEGISLATIVE CHAMBER, FORTALEZA, CEARA ee) ek CAS DOCE COUNTRY \:2: cnt poets oy aero 
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INTRODUCTION 


=IHEN the New World was yet in the dawn of its development, at the beginning 
4| of the nineteenth century, and European powers controlled the destinies of a 
great part of the western hemisphere, Portugal was the first to recognize the 
claims of colonial subjects to an independent share of the world’s trade. In 
the year 1808, the ports of Brazil were opened to commerce with all nations 
and Brazilian products were carried to every part of the globe. This was the initial step in 
the extensive cultivation of foreign relations which to-day places Brazil among the leading 
countries; and it is fitting that the Brazilian people should honor the memory of the Portu- 
gsuese monarch, King Dom Jodo VI., by celebrating the centennial of the important event 
brought about by his royal command. The close bond of sympathy and good will which 
exists to-day between the mother country and her emancipated offspring affords the world 
an example of unity such as is possible only between nations of common origin when the 
sentiment of rejoicing turns their thoughts with equal pride to the memory of the same 
gracious Sovereign. 

The development of an essentially modern spirit of progress and enterprise, which has 
placed the people of Brazil in the front rank among the leading powers of the New World, 
and which so dominates the national life at the present moment that every part of the vast 
republic is responding to its stimulating influence, shows an awakening to new conditions 
and a realization of larger responsibilities such as necessarily distinguish a great nation 
thoroughly aroused to the importance of its high destiny. It is this spirit which has 
created the new Brazil. 

In earlier periods, the same national character was expressed through a gentle but 
unyielding independence and patriotism that proved itself, upon more than one occasion, 
capable of achieving, with the arms of peace alone, those priceless victories of liberty 
which patriots of other lands have been able to win only at the cost of terrible bloodshed. 
And it was due not less to the liberal spirit of the country’s rulers than to the character 
13 


14 INTRODUCTION 


of the people themselves that the Portuguese kingdom of Brazil became successively an 
empire and a republic without the horrors of war, and that her institutions were, from the 
beginning, established on a broad and liberal basis. 

By the celebration of her four hundredth anniversary, in 1900, Brazil not only signalized 
her wonderful growth and development from apparent insignificance to a position of great 
importance among the nations, but also marked the successful inauguration of new condi- 
tions, which during the past eight years have been strengthened and given the stability of 
a permanent force in moulding the national life to accord with the watchword of the 
people: Order and Progress. All eyes are now turning toward South America, as they 
turned toward her northern neighbor at the beginning of the century recently closed; and 
there is every reason to believe that the phenomenal growth and progress which marked 
the history of the United States of America during the nineteenth century will be duplicated 
during the present one by her young republican sister and friend—The New Brazil. 


Philadelphia, November 25, 1907. 


THE NEW BRAZIL 


CHAPTER | 


EARLY HISTORY AND TRADITION 


MONUMENT OF PEDRO ALVARES CABRAL. 


HE magnificence of nature’s gifts to this 
great country, the patriotic and genial 
qualities that distinguish its people, and the 
remarkable course of its political history, as 
a province, a kingdom, an empire, and a 
republic, are all to be considered in tracing 
the development of Brazil from the time 
of the discovery to the present day. Of 
vast extent and unrivalled scenery, ‘it is a 
paradise of abundance and beauty. Its 
majestic rivers, gigantic forests, Spacious 
plains, the gorgeous coloring of the land- 
scapes, their prodigal adornment, distinguish 
it among all the countries of the world. 

It was certainly a favoring fortune that 
guided the ships of the Portuguese naviga- 
tor, Pedro Alvares Cabral, when he steered 
westward out of his course to avoid the dead 
calm off the coast of Africa and was wafted 
to the wonderful “Land of the Southern 


Cross.” That he became the discoverer of a new continent, and set in the royal diadem 
of Portugal a gem of brilliant lustre destined to eclipse the crown itself, was due to one of 
those happy caprices of fate which visit men once or twice in a century. A Spanish 
navigator, Vicente Yafiez Pinzon, is said to have sighted the coast of Brazil some months 
earlier than Cabral, passing the mouth of the Amazon River, which he named the “ Fresh- 
water Sea”; but he did not take possession of the newly found territory, and the news 
of its discovery is said to have reached the Old World first through Cabral. Neither of 


Dy f 


18 THE NEW BRAZIL 


these navigators knew that he had discovered the western continent, Pinzon believing that 
he had reached the coast of India, and Cabral that he had discovered only an island, to 
which he gave the name “Island of the True Cross,” though this was changed the next 
year to “Santa Cruz,” and later to “Brazil,” from the name of the rich dyewoods that 
formed part of all cargoes taken out of the country during the early years of its colonization. 
When this name came to be popularly applied to the country, all efforts to preserve the 
more religious appellative failed, much to the disgust of the Christian fathers, who inveighed 
bitterly against the cupidity of man, so interested in unworthy traffic as to bestow upon a 
land once christened “The Holy Cross,” a name of such worldly significance as “ Brazil.” 
But their protest was of no avail, as the name of “Santa Cruz” soon became lost to the 
records and “ Brazil” grew into universal recognition. 

It was on Good-Friday, the 22d of April, 1500, that Cabral first landed, taking posses- 
sion of the country in the name of the King of Portugal. The point of disembarkation was 
not far from the present site of Bahia, at what is known as Porto Seguro. On Sunday, the 
26th of April, an altar was erected, and the first Mass was celebrated in Brazil by Friar Hen- 
rique, of Coimbra. A few days later, the fleet left the harbor, proceeding on its way to the 
Indies, having. put ashore in the newly discovered territory two degradados [mutineers]. 

It was not until King Manoel of Portugal later sent out expeditions to explore the 
so-called island that the extent and possibilities of the new discovery began to be appre- 
ciated. Between 1501 and 1504 two fleets were dispatched from Portugal: the first, under 
Andre Gongalves, sailed along the coast from Cape Sao Roque southward; and the second, 
under Gongalo Coelho, proceeded from Bahia southward. In the. latter expedition sailed 
the Florentine cosmographer, Amerigo Vespucci, who was the first to learn that the new 
discovery was nota part of the coast of India, but a great western continent, separate and 
apart from Asia,—a New World. His memory is immortalized in the name “America,” which 
was first given to Brazil, then extended to include all South America, and finally became 
the title of the entire New World. When the first republic was created in America, its 
constitution gave it the name of “The United States of America,” and its people generally 
claim the title of “Americans,” though South Americans do not recognize this monopoly of 
a name to which the discoverer gave them a prior claim. They invariably refer to the 
people of the United States as “North Americans.” During the voyage, Vespucci built a 
fort at Cape Frio, and Coelho another at Rio de Janeiro, though both efforts proved useless, 
as they were demolished by the Indians. Vespucci returned to Lisbon in 1504, and one of 
his letters, still extant, is the first published document about the new country, which he 
describes as a “terrestrial paradise.” It seems incredible, in the light of modern ideas, that 
during the ten years of exploration which followed Columbus’s discovery, and in spite of 
all the evidences of an unclaimed land, of virgin soil and primeval forests, whose inhabitants 
were too barbarous to be classed with the civilized Asiatics, the early navigators should 
have persisted in believing they were in an ancient, rich, and powerful monarchy of the 
Orient. Certainly Vespucci deserves credit for his greater discernment. 


BARELY HISTORY AND TRADITION 19 


Meantime the Brazilian coast was explored from Cape Sao Roque to Maranhao by a 
Portuguese navigator Jodo Coelho, and the same year a Portuguese expedition made 
a survey southward, extending the discoveries to the Rio de la Plata and Patagonia. 
Nearly all the Portuguese fleets sailing for the Indies at this time, put into port somewhere 
along the coast of Brazil. Years before any systematic attempt at colonization was made, 
there existed settlements under 
the control of Portuguese new- 
comers who had made friends 
with the natives and were liv- 
ing on good terms with them. 
In some instances, the colonists 
were Survivors of shipwrecks, 
while others were sailors left 
on shore as a punishment for 
misdemeanors. 

Oimthe Vearliest. arrivals, 
among whom were the ances- 
tors of some of the best fami- 
lies of Brazil to-day, three are 
especially noted for their influ- 
ence upon the civilization of 
that time, Duarte Peres, Jodo 
Ramalho, and Diogo Alvares 
Correa. Peres was a nobleman, 
who had been transported to 
the island of Cananéa in 1501, 
and who afterward became 
a power in colonial affairs. 
Ramalho arrived in Brazil in 
1512, a Shipwrecked soldier of 
fortune. Making his way to 
the camp of the mighty chief 


Tibiriga, he not only received a HIS MAJESTY DOM JOAO VI., KING OF PORTUGAL, BRAZIL, AND ALGARVES. 
kindly welcome, but was given 


the chief's daughter in marriage. From this union was founded the sturdy race of 
‘“Mamelucos,” as the pioneer Paulistas were called, who lent valuable assistance to the 
Portuguese crown in ‘its efforts to colonize the present State of Sdo Paulo and neighboring 
provinces. Diogo Alvares Corréa, celebrated as “Caramurt,” was shipwrecked off the 
coast of Bahia in 1510, and his remarkable rescue and romantic marriage to the Indian 
maiden Paraguasst gave rise to a popular legend of a Brazilian Pocahontas, which is one 


20 THE NEW BRAZIL 


of the most picturesque tales that embellish the pages of Brazilian chronicles. Diogo 
Alvares Corréa, in company with eight of his countrymen, was shipwrecked off the coast 
of Bahia while on a voyage from Portugal to the Indies. All his companions were killed 
and devoured by the savages, who had reserved Alvares for their last morsel; but as 
they approached to seize him, he fired a shot from a musket which he had saved from 
the ship, which so terrified the Indians that they fled in all directions, shouting “Caramuru! 
Caramurt!”? which means “man of fire.” Among the spectators of this extraordinary 
scene was the beautiful maiden, Paraguassu, the daughter of the most powerful chief 
of the Tupinamba Indians. Filled with admiration for the brave “Caramuru,” and realizing 
that although he had succeeded for the moment in warding off the attack of her people, 
yet he must inevitably fall a victim to their cruelty if some effort were not put forth to 
save his life, she went to her father and interceded for him herself, with such effective 
pleading that the great chief became Caramurt’s protector and friend. Inspired with 
- gratitude and affection for the Indian princess, Diogo Alvares married her. He took her 
to France, where King Henry II. and Queen Catherine de Medicis received her, and wit- 
nessed her baptism, the queen acting as godmother and bestowing upon the little Indian 
girl her own name, after which both the king and queen witnessed her marriage to Diogo. 
Their union is a matter of history, and their descendants are to-day among the most 
influential families of Bahia. Paraguassti lived to be a hundred years old, and at her death 
her mortal remains were placed in the monastery of Nossa Senhora da Graga, in Bahia. 
Alvares made friends with the Indians, and through his influence with them became one of 
the most powerful personages of Brazil during the early days of its colonization. He aided 
materially in the settlement of the capitania of Bahia, where he established his family at the 
place since called “Villa Velha,” maintaining a position of importance second only to that of 
the governor-general himself. In the ancient registry of deaths in the cathedral of Bahia 
was recorded: “On the 5th day of October, 1557, died Diogo Alvares Corréa Caramurt, of 
the hamlet of Pereira; he was buried in the monastery of Jesus; leaving for his executor, 
Joao de Figueiredo, his son-in-law.” 

The first successful effort to colonize Brazil was made when King Jodo III. divided the 
new territory into parallel strips, each strip extending along fifty leagues of coast and of 
unlimited extent inland, and gave them as hereditary grants, under the name “ Capitanias,” 
to such of his followers as would undertake their settlement; the title to the capitania giving 
full power of jurisdiction, both civil and criminal. The first capitania was founded by Martim 
Affonso de Souza, who arrived in Brazil, in 1531, with a fleet and four hundred colonists. 
He stopped first at Bahia, then in the harbor of Rio de Janeiro, and the following year he 
pursued his course as far south as La Plata and founded the colonies of Sao Vicente and 
Piratininga, in the present state of SAo Paulo. He sent troops into the interior in search of 
gold, but they were driven back and killed by the Guarany Indians. In his efforts at 
colonization he was, as previously stated, greatly aided by the ‘“Mamelucos,” or Paulistas, 
who were invincible in courage and energy, as their descendants have been from that day 


AN ae SO mye AN De RADI TION 21 


to the present. The colony of Piratininga was founded on the site of the present city of 
Sao Paulo in the Mameluco territory of Sdo André, and Jodo Ramalho, the son-in-law of the 
chief Tibiriga4, was appointed its first governor. The name Tibirica is borne to-day by 
descendants of the great chief, and is among the most honored in Brazil. Soon after 
establishing the colony of Sao 
Vicente, Martim Affonso de 
Souza imported sugar cane 
from the Madeira Islands and 
it was cultivated with great 
SUCCESS. Another grantee, 
Duarte Coelho, who founded 
the capitania of Pernambuco 
about this time, introduced the 
Sugar cane into that province, 
with what marvellous results is 
generally known. In addition 
to the capitanias founded by 
the two grantees just referred 
to, Martim Affonso’s brother, 
Pero Lopes de Souza, took 
his fifty leagues in two allot- 
ments, one of which joined 
his brother’s, and was called 
Sao Amaro, and the other ad- 
joining Duarte Coelho’s on 
the north. Vasco Fernandes 
Coutinho founded Espirito 
“Santo; Pedro de Campo Tou- 
rinhe, Porto Seguro, afterward 
merged into another State; 
Francisco Pereira Coutinho 
founded the capitania from Sado 
Francisco to Bahia. Others DOM PEDRO I., EMPEROR AND PERPETUAL DEFENDER OF BRAZIL. 
were founded later, but all 

were finally made tributary to a central government, though maintaining the office of 
ouvidor [magistrate], with authority second only to that of the governor. 

In 1539, Orellana made a voyage down the Amazon River from Peru, by order of 
Pizarro. He was eight months on the journey, and the thrilling stories of adventure which 
he related in an account of his experiences during that time outrival some of the boldest 
tales of ancient heroes. It was from his account of the warrior-women of the Amazon that 


22 THE ONEW BRAZIL 


the river received its name, though his story is not the only record of the existence of such 
a tribe. He related that there lived in the forests of the Amazon country a great and 
powerful tribe of woman-warriors who ruled over a large territory, and were invincible in 
battle. They were described as very tall, robust, fair, with long hair twisted over their 
heads, skins around their loins, and bows and arrows in their hands. 

Regarding this story, it may be remarked, in passing, that it has been told in substance 
by nearly all the early explorers of that region. La Condamine, the great French scientist, on 
his return home after a voyage of exploration in the Amazon country, wrote a pamphlet 
on the subject, expressing his belief in the existence of these women. He located their 
headquarters on the upper Rio Negro. Humboldt also seems to have believed in them, 
and tells in all seriousness the account given him by the Indians about a “community of 
women who made sarbacanas [blow-guns] and other weapons of war, and who once a 
year admitted to their society the men of the neighboring tribe, whom they sent back with 
presents of sarbacanas. All the male children of these women were killed in infancy.” 
Another authority says regarding them: ‘They are women of great valor, who have always 
kept themselves from ordinary intercourse with men; and even when these, according to 
agreement, come every year to their land, they receive them armed with bows and arrows, 
which they brandish for a time till assured that the men come peaceably; then throwing 
down their weapons, they rush to the canoes, and each one lays hold of a hammock, carrying 
it to her house along with its owner, who is to be her guest for a few days—after which the 
men are sent back to their own country, returning every year at the same time. The female 
children resulting from this union are brought up by the Amazons, the males being given to 
their fathers the next year or else killed.” 

Southey gives the following record of Orellana’s adventures with the Amazon women, 
and of a battle that took place in their territory: “Fray Gaspar affirmed that ten or twelve 
Amazon women fought at the head of these people, who were subject to their nation, and 
maintained the fight desperately, because anyone who fled in battle would be beaten to 
death by these female tyrants.” And then follows Orellana’s description of these women, 
said to have been obtained by questioning the Indians: ‘They lived after the manner of 
the Amazons of the ancients, and possessed gold and silver in abundance. There were in 
their dominions five temples of the sun, all covered with plates of gold; their houses 
were of stone, and their cities walled.” From which it would seem either that Orellana 
made a very “free translation” indeed of the Indians’ language, or that the Indians played 
extravagantly upon Orellana’s credulity. 

Dr. Barbosa Rodrigues, Director of the Botanical Gardens at Rio, relates a story that is 
still told in the region of the Jamunda River: “Long ago, some women who had abandoned 
the men of their tribe came down the river Jamunda. The men, discontented, followed 
them, but numberless obstacles barred their way so that they could never overtake the 
women: sometimes the thorns formed dense thickets in the forests; again, ferocious 
animals protected the flight of the fugitives, howling monkeys pelted their pursuers, 


ation) sd ON Yariv Del Rk ADITION 23 


and curupira [spirit-voices] led them astray. At length, the women took pity on their 
husbands and lovers and received them,—but as vassals,—promising to admit them to 


their society once a year. 
these unions, only the 
by the mothers, and only 
dren were held worthy to 
cious talisman, a jade, or 
Amazon,’ which they called 

There is an interesting 
the manner in which the 
this sacred talisman. It is 
the year and during.a certain 
came to the lake near the 
a festival dedicated to the 
of the Amazon Stone,” who 
having purified themselves 
tival, which was expiatory, 
late at night when the moon 
received from this “ Mother 
Whatever shape they de- 
which hardened when ex- 
that it could not change. 
vasions that continually 
it was deemed necessary to 
ment in Brazil, and, in 1549, 
pointed governor-general, 
criminal. He founded the 
Bahia the same year, and 
to a bishopric, remaining the 
official residence of the gov- 


FOUNDATION STONE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 


made during the four years of Souza’s government. 


Of the children born of 
females were to be retained 
the fathers of female chil- 
be presented with the pre- 
‘sacred green stone of the 
the mutra-kitan.” 

tradition about the jade, and 
Amazon women secured 
said that at a certain time of 
quarter of the moon they 
Jamunda River to celebrate 
moon, and to the ‘“ Mother 
dwelt in this lake. After 
for some days by this fes- 
they dived into the water 
was reflected in the lake and 
of the Amazon Stone,” in 
sired, the precious — gem, 
posed to the sunlight, so 
In consequence of the in- 
threatened the new colony, 
establish a central govern- 
Thome de Souza was ap- 
with full powers, civil and 
city of Sado Salvador de 
two years later it was raised 
government capital and the 
“ernor-general 
for more than 
two hundred 
years, until 
transferred to 
Rio de Janeiro 
in 1762. Rapid 
progress was 


Sugar plantations were laid out in the 


vicinity of the capital, the city was substantially built up, and much good was accomplished 


both for the colonists and the natives. 


The moral and religious training of the Indians was 


24 THESNEWSBRAAL 


confided to missionary priests of the Jesuit order, which had recently been founded by 
Ignatius Loyola, the most distinguished for their labors in this field being Fathers Anchieta and 
Nobrega, known as the “Apostles of Brazil.” Father Anchieta began his work in Bahia 
and Father Nobrega in Sao Vicente (where he established the Jesuit College of Sado Paulo, 
from which the present city of Sao Paulo received its name), but the two priests finally 
united their efforts in behalf of the Indians of Sdo Paulo and Minas Geraes. The first 
bishop of Brazil, Dom Pedro Fernandes Sardinha, arrived in Bahia January 1, 1552, and 
remained four years. Attempting to return to Lisbon he was shipwrecked, fell into the 
hands of cannibals, and was put to death. Tradition says that the scene of his martyrdom 
was reduced from a green and fertile spot to an arid place where nothing would grow. 

In 1553, Thomé de Souza was succeeded as governor-general of Brazil by Duarte de 
Costa, who, after five years, gave the reins of government to his successor, Mem de Sa, one 
of the most distinguished and capable of the Brazilian governors-general. During the rule of 
Mem de Sa, a colony of French Protestants was sent out by Admiral Coligny at the 
suggestion of a French adventurer, Villegaignon, who urged the advantages to accrue to 
Protestantism from the establishment of a colony on the beautiful bay of Rio de Janeiro, 
which should be a place of refuge, where all would have freedom and protection in the 
worship of God. Hundreds of Huguenots eagerly joined the expedition, which sailed for 
Brazil in search of religious liberty three-fourths of a century before the Pilgrim fathers 
embarked for the New England coast on a similar quest. Had Villegaignon been less 
despotic in his methods, or more sincere in his undertaking, results might have been vastly 
different. But he turned against his followers, many of whom went back to France in 
despair, arriving in time to prevent the exodus of ten thousand of their fellow country- 
men, who were ready to sail for Brazil. Mem de Sa seized the opportune moment in 
which to strike at the French stronghold on the island of Villegaigznon, and, reinforced 
by colonists from Sao Paulo, Sao Vicente, Espirito Santo, and Bahia, he succeeded in 
dislodging the enemy and driving them from the country. He then founded the city 
of Rio de Janeiro, the present capital of Brazil, in the year 1567. In 1572, Diogo 
Laurengo de Veiga became governor-general, and the colonies enjoyed a few years of 
prosperity, until the union of the crowns of Spain and Portugal by Philip I]. of Spain in 
1580 made Brazil a Spanish possession, neglected and at the mercy of invading adventurers 
of all nations. 

From information furnished by Father Anchieta, in 1585, there were at this time in 
Brazil about 25,000 white persons: 12,000 at Bahia, 8,000 at Pernambuco, 250 at Itamarca, 
1,500 at Porto Seguro, 750 at Espirito Santo, 750 at Rio, 1,500 at Séo Vicente. There were 
more than 13,000 negro slaves, and of that number 10,000 were in Pernambuco where the 
trade was introduced by the earliest colonists, 3,000 being at Bahia. The population of 
civilized Indians was estimated at about 19,000. The total population under colonial juris- 
diction was about 57,000. Sergipe, founded in 1590, and Para, in 1615, were among the 
capitanias settled at this period. 


”* 


‘Old dO YOUUVH AHL OL FAONVALNA 


BARRY auS LORY ANDS TRADITION 2 


The indifference shown by Spain toward Brazil was chiefly due to the fact that this 
colony was not then producing such enormous mineral wealth as the colonies of Mexico 
and Peru,—especially Alto Peru, where the rich silver mines of Potosi were in the zenith of 
their production,—and all the mother-country’s attention was absorbed by her more pros- 
perous offspring. The result of this indifference was perhaps not so disastrous as a Selfish 
interest might have been, since the new colony gained in self-reliance what it lost in 
protection, and learned to fight its own battles. 

To this day there exist in Brazil evidences of the invasions of the period between 
1580 and 1640, of which the most important in its influence upon the country was that 
of the Dutch, who first came over in 1624, were defeated in their efforts to hold Bahia, 
the Brazilian capital, and retired, but only to return in 1630, when they made a more 
Successful attack and took possession of Olinda and Recife (Pernambuco). The Brazilians, 
under General Mathias de Albuquerque, at once began a determined fight against them that 
lasted for twenty-four years, during which the Dutch added greatly to their possessions, 
though they were repeatedly checked by the Brazilians, who fought every inch of territory 
with unexampled bravery. Under the Dutch general Prince Maurice de Nassau, the 
invaders succeeded in extending their dominions from Rio Real at the south to Maranhao 
at the north, their leader founding on the island of San Antonio the town of Mauritzstadt, 
which became a flourishing centre, and is to-day one of the quarters of Recife. Prince 
Maurice was sincere and determined in his efforts to establish a successful Dutch colony 
in the new country, and invited thither many renowned artists and savants, the city of 
Olinda becoming quite a celebrated centre of learning, the seat of the university and a 
metropolis of wealth and fashion. But when liberty of commerce was secured from the 
States-General, limiting the West India Company’s monopoly to the importation of slaves 
and war ammunition and the exportation of dyewoods, the enemies of this measure began 
to plot for the prince’s downfall, and his great power became weakened through political 
strife. During this time Holland sent her greatest sailors to Brazil, among them Piet 
Heyn, who was defeated by the Brazilians in an effort to seize Victoria, in the province of 
Espirito Santo. 

When the Spanish union with Portugal was broken, in 1640, and the Duke of Braganza 
was proclaimed King of Portugal under the title of Dom Joao IV., an armistice was signed 
between Holland and Portugal. It did not, however, prevent the Brazilians from persisting 
in their efforts to drive out the invaders, and, in 1642, the people of Maranhdao rose in revolt, 
followed by the Pernambucans in 1645. During this war were fought the two famous 
battles of Guararapes, in 1648-1649, which were won by the Brazilians, who gained posses- 
sion of the main strongholds of the enemy and forced their leader, General van Schoppe, to 
capitulate, all the fortresses still occupied by the Dutch being by the terms of capitulation 
turned over to the King of Portugal. Many Brazilian soldiers distinguished themselves 
in this war. The battles of Guararapes were won under the ceneralship of Barreto de 
Menezes; Fernandes Vieira gained an important victory at Tabocos, and Vidal de Negreiros, 


28 THE NEW BRAZIL 


at Casa Forte. Luiz Barbalho, the Indian Camardo, and the negro Henrique Dias were 
conspicuous for their heroism. Even the Brazilian woman had her share in the war. 

Donna Clara Camarao, wife of 
the brave chief, placed herself 
at the head of a company of 
heroic women, who fought 
nobly in defence of Pernam- 
buco, and rendered good ser- 
vice to their country in driving 
back the enemy. 

Portugal separated from 
Spain in 1640, and Brazil was 
divided into two great govern- 
-ments, called States; to the 
north was the State of Maran- 
hao, composed of Para and 
Maranhao, and to the south, 
the State of Brazil (with its 
capital at Bahia), taking in all 
the rest of the territory and 
including the governments of 
Pernambuco, Bahia, and Rio de 
Janeiro. The State of Brazil 
was made a viceroyalty in 1640, 
and about fifty years later, in 

1694, the first mint was estab- 
lished at Bahia, after which it 
was removed to Rio, and still 
later to Pernambuco. It was 
in order to guarantee the safety 
of the money that it was coined at different places. It was not deemed advisable to send 
large amounts to any great distance, on account of the imperfect facilities for transportation, 
and so the plan was adopted of removing the mint to each capital in turn, until a sufficient 
supply had been coined for the whole country, after which the mint ceased to exist. 

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Paulistas, who were the pioneers 
of Brazil in the centre and south of the empire, advanced far into the interior in search of 
gold, and to extend their conquest over the Indians, whom they forced to labor on their 
plantations along the coast. In this way, they founded the provinces of Minas Geraes, 
Goyaz, Matto Grosso, Santa Catharina, and the northern part of Rio Grande do Sul. They 
drove out the Spanish Jesuits established in the east of Parana, and forced them to abandon 


DOM PEDRO II., EMPEROR OF BRAZIL. 


“ 


BARLEY SoISTORY ANDSTRADITION 29 


their claims, and to take refuge with their confréres in the province of Tape (Rio Grande do 
Sul). Afterward the Jesuits were pursued even to this retreat, and made to evacuate their 
missions. Successful in these efforts, the victors then drove the Spaniards out of all the 
country east of the Uruguay, though the Jesuits afterward returned and established new 
missions. A long struggle ensued between the Paulistas and the Jesuits, the latter claiming 
the right to protect the Indians from slavery, while the former asserted that this right was 
used for purposes of profit by the Church. In 1640 the Paulistas seized the Indians 
working in the Jesuit college of Sao Paulo and expelled the order from that province. Bulls 
from the pope and orders from the king were alike ignored, and when called upon to swear 
allegiance to King Jodo IV., who had just been restored to the throne of Portugal, these 
redoubtable warriors, who had refused to submit to Spanish rule when the crowns of 
Spain and Portugal were united in 1580, declared their independence, and brought forward 
one Amador Bueno to be their king. He himself frustrated their purpose, however, at the 
moment of his proclamation, by calling out: “Long live King Joao IV., our rightful sover- 
eign!” The chief cause of this rebellious attitude of the Paulistas lay in their animosity 
toward the Jesuits, a feeling shared by the colonists of Para and Maranhao, who also 


RUSTIC BRIDGE IN THE GARDEN OF THE PRESIDENT’S PALACE, RIO DE JANEIRO. 


expelled the order; and in this course they had a powerful ally in the great prime minister of 
Portugal, the Marquis de Pombal, who awaited only a favorable opportunity to crush this 


30 THE NEW BRAZIL 


priesthood, which he believed to be a menace to the best interests of the crown. The 
propitious hour came in connection with the settlement of a dispute regarding the Colonia 


CATTETE PALACE, RESIDENCE OF THE PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL. 


= 


do Sacramento, which had been founded by the Portuguese colonists in 1680 on the left 
bank of the river La Plata and which was the source of numerous quarrels with Spain, till 
finally, by the treaty of Madrid, in 1750, it was ceded by Portugal to Spain in exchange for 
the territory of the Jesuit missions on the left bank of the Uruguay River. The Jesuits were 
not satisfied with this arrangement and incited the Indians to resist it, with the result that a 
war was begun to reduce them to subjection. This gave the opportunity which the minister 
Pombal had long desired, and he ordered the expulsion of the whole order from Brazil 
in 1759. At the same time he secured the signature of King José I. to laws which put an 
end to the slave trade in Indians. The treaty of Madrid was afterward broken, and the 
dispute over the possession of the colony began again, lasting for some years, during which 
several battles were fought with varying results. Finally, an agreement was made by 
which Spain kept the colony, giving up certain lands that had been seized by her during the 
war, and renouncing claims to other territory within the disputed limits. 

With the discovery of her rich mines about the middle of the eighteenth century, Brazil 
entered upon a period of continuous development. The tide of the Portuguese immigration, 
which had hitherto been directed almost exclusively to Bahia, Pernambuco, and northern 


Pay t LOhY eANDe TRADITION aT 


Brazil, began to turn to Rio de Janeiro, through which lay the shortest route to the gold 
fields. Every ship brought out increasing numbers of fortune seekers; many came with 
their families, and Rio grew rapidly in social and commercial importance. In 1762 it became 
the colonial capital, an honor which Bahia had held from the time of the first appointment 
of a governor-general to Brazil in 1549. The division of the country into two States was 
abolished in 1775, when the State of Maranhao was joined to that of Brazil. In the original 
capitanias various changes had been made; Sao Paulo and Minas, which had been united in 
1709, were separated in 1720; Santa Catharina became a province in 1738; Goyaz and also 
Matto Grosso, in 1748; and Rio Negro, in 1757. Parad and Maranhao, which had composed the 
northern State of Maranhdao, were separated in 1775. The condition of the colony improved 
constantly, and with the increasing wealth, which came as a result of great agricultural and 
mineral production, the people began to devote more attention to their political well-being. 
Throughout the entire country there were evidences of the discontent which is a sure sign 
of political growth. 

An important conspiracy for independence was discovered and crushed in Minas Geraes 
in 1789, the leaders being exiled, with the exception of one, Silva Xavier, “ Tiradentes,” who 


GRAND SALON, CATTETE PALACE, 


was executed. The history of this revolution is particularly interesting, as it not only shows 
the influence of the American and the French revolutions upon the patriotic spirits of Brazil, 


32 THE NEW BRAZIL 


but also illustrates how much more effective was the Portuguese method of dealing with 
the malcontents than that adopted by the English and the French monarchies under similar 
circumstances. The immediate cause. of the conspiracy was the alarm awakened by 
measures which the government was taking to collect taxes that the people were unable to 
pay because of a falling off in the revenues of the mines, their chief source of income. In 
the midst of this crisis, there arrived from Portugal a young Minas student named José Alves 
Maciel, one of a group of ardent patriots, who, fired by the example of the French and the 
North Americans, had taken a solemn pledge to devote their lives to the cause of Brazilian 
liberty. One of his fellow students had gone so far as to address Thomas Jefferson, then 
American Minister to Paris, asking the support of the United States in the cause of Brazilian 
independence. Maciel took advantage of the situation in Minas to advance his theories 
regarding the necessity for the political regeneration of Brazil, having met in Tiradentes a 
kindred spirit, aflame with ideas of independence. The real leader of the plot was, however, 
a brother-in-law of Maciel named Francisco de Paula Freire de Andrada, though it is said 
the plan originated at the house of the poet, Thomas Antonio Gonzaga, from which it has 
been called “a dream of students and a conspiracy of poets.” It was chiefly through 
Freire de Andrada’s influence that the leading conspirators were saved from the gallows and 
that their sentence was commuted to exile, as he was connected with two of the noblest 
families of Portugal, high in favor at court.. The unfortunate Tiradentes was made the 
Scapegoat, and the full weight of the penalty fell upon him. He was beheaded and quartered, 
his head was exposed in the public square of Ouro Preto, his house was.burned to the 
ground, and his family disgraced to the third generation. He was only a secondary character 
in the forming of the plot, but he won immortal fame by his sufferings and death; and the 
name of “Tiradentes” is to-day inscribed in the annals of Brazilian history as belonging to 
one of her greatest heroes,—the first republican who shed his blood in the cause of Brazilian 
independence. A fitting menument to his memory marks the spot of his martyrdom, bear- 
ing on its pedestal his motto: “Libertas qua sera tamen,” and the dates 1789-1889, the 
year of the conspiracy and the year of the establishment of the present republic of. Brazil. 
Just a century later! The wise policy of the Portuguese government in dealing with this 
outburst against its authority, was shown by the remission of all the taxes claimed, and the 
abolition of a salt monopoly which had long been a special grievance. Had the home gov- 
ernment refused to grant any concessions to the discontented colonists and rested satisfied 
with having punished the conspirators, the outcome might have been a revolution as deter- 
mined and successful as that which won the independence of the United States and of 
France. Portugal secured the loyalty of her colonists by yielding to their just and righteous 
demands. . 
But the national sentiment was growing strong and determined in favor of less 
restrictive rule on the part of the mother-country. With increasing wealth arose the neces- 
sity for greater liberty of commerce; it began to be felt a great hardship that none but 
Portuguese ships were allowed in Brazilian waters, and that imported articles had to be 


BARD Vesdishory «44ND TRADITION yy 


paid for at such extravagant prices as to be beyond the means even of the wealthiest 
people. It was not unusual to find a home richly furnished with gold and silver plate, yet 
without such simple necessities as glass tumblers, steel knives and forks, books, stationery, 
and other articles of ordinary use. Such a condition of affairs was unbearable to a people 
who had contributed an important share of its wealth to the mother country, and who felt 
they had a right to a fuller recognition of their political importance. Just at the period 
when this sentiment was reaching its limit, and when a serious crisis threatened the peace 
of the country, an event of the greatest importance occurred, which changed the whole 


A RECEPTION ROOM IN CATTETE PALACE, RIO DE JANEIRO. 


aspect of the national politics and brought about, by the stroke of a pen, the great blessing 
of free commerce for which the people had been contending bitterly, and apparently 
hopelessly, for many years. 

When Napoleon’s army descended upon Portugal, in 1807, the prince regent, Dom Jodo, 
who ruled in the name of his mother, Queen Maria I., of Portugal, realizing the impossibility 
of offering successful resistance to the invading force, sought refuge, with all the royal 
family, in Brazil, and arrived at Rio de Janeiro on March 8, 1808. On two previous occa- 
sions, when disaster threatened, it had been suggested that the seat of the Portuguese 
government should be transferred to Brazil,—in 1736, by Dom Luiz da Cunha, and in 1761, 


34 THE NEW BRAZIL 


by the Marquis de Pombal; but the danger having passed before arrangements were com- 
pleted, the change had been postponed. It came at the most opportune moment for Brazil. 

The prince regent, with the royal family and a large retinue, landed first at Bahia. He 
was a monarch of noble presence and by his conduct ever showed himself to be a worthy 
and. gracious prince deserving of the loyalty and love of his subjects. Gentle in disposition, 
he was just, tolerant in religion, and of high moral character. His first act endeared him to 
the colonists, who welcomed his coming with every demonstration of joy. He did not 
wait to reach the capital, but from Bahia issued the Carta Regia, dated January 28, 1808, in 
which it was decreed that the ports of Brazil were from that date opened to the trade of all 
nations, the home government to retain no more than a moderate duty on imports, while 
exports under any flag were permitted, of all articles except one or two, which were still 
reserved as royal monopolies. To Brazil this Carfa Regia meant the destruction of all 
fetters on industrial and commercial development and the opening up of glorious possibilities 
for the nation, which, within the century that has passed since that memorable event, it 
has amply realized. 

Not only did the prince regent open the Brazilian ports to foreign commerce, but he 
encouraged the free development of every kind of industry by all classes of Brazilians 
(under the colonial system permission was grudgingly given to manufacture a few articles 
of coarse quality, for slaves, from the cotton which grew in the country); established the 
printing-press, which had been inhibited in Brazil up to this time because of its supposed 
dangerous effects; built a gunpowder factory; established a royal treasury and a council of 
finance to regulate the receipts and expenditures of the national income; created the Bank 
of Brazil; instituted a school of anatomy, surgery, and medicine, annexed to the Royal Mili- 
tary Hospital; and founded a chemical laboratory, and a quarantine lazaretto for contagious 
diseases brought from foreign ports. About this time, vaccination was introduced by the 
Marquis de Barbacena, who made the first experiment on his own son (the Viscount de 
Barbacena, of Rio de Janeiro, who died recently at one hundred and four years of age, 
having seen his country develop as a province, a kingdom, an empire, and a republic). 
In 1814, the first national library was opened to the public, a new treasury and mint were 
completed, a new custom house was erected, and the city of Rio was built up, and beau- 
tified by parks and gardens. The following year, the royal decree was issued, naming the 
new seat of government the “Kingdom of Brazil,” forming, with the other possessions, 
the “United Kingdoms of Portugal, Brazil, and Algarves.” Just at this time, Queen Maria I. 
died, and, after a year’s mourning, the acclamation of Dom Jodo’s succession took place; 
the royal arms were adopted as suitable to designate the new kingdom, and by royal decree 
were added to those of Portugal and Algarves, consisting of an armillary sphere of gold in 
a field azure, with an escutcheon containing the Quinas of Portugal and the seven castles 
of Algarves placed on the sphere, surmounted by the royal crown. 

The acclamation ceremony took place on the sth of February, 1818. The mode of 
enthroning monarchs by acclamation was among the most ancient usages of the Portuguese 


Eee OMY eNO TRADITION 35 


people, dating as far back as the early part of the twelfth century, when the first Affonso 
was acclaimed king by his soldiers after his victory over the Moors. The ceremony, in 
earlier times, consisted in 
the king standing on a 
shield which was_ then 
lifted above the heads of 
his soldiers, who pro- 
claimed him their king; 
but later the shield was 
dispensed with, and at 
the coronation of Dom 
Jodo VI. the ceremony 
was chiefly religious, the 
acclamation being made 
in a loud voice as the 
royal standard was un- 
furled after the celebra- 
tion of Mass in the chapel 
royal: “Royal, royal, royal, by the very high and very powerful Senhor, King Dom Jodo VI., 
our sovereign!” The acclamation was accompanied by the pealing of bells, the music of 
military bands, explosions of artillery, fire-works, and deafening vivas! 

Almost during the whole period of Dom Jodo’s residence in Brazil, his armies were 
engaged in war in the Banda Oriental. Finally, a succession of victories for his troops 
resulted in the demoralization of the Uruguayan forces and the flight of their leader into 
Paraguay. The Banda Oriental was then united by federation with the kingdom of Brazil, 
under the name of the “Cisplatine Province,” in 1821. . 

Meantime, there was trouble brewing in the mother-country. The commerce of Portugal 
was suffering in consequence of the opening of Brazilian ports, and there was considerable 
jealousy felt toward this young “upstart colony” which, since it had been raised to the dignity 
of a kingdom and had become the residence of the royal family, threatened to take away the 
laurels of the parent kingdom. Consequently, after the close of Napoleon’s wars, when Spain 
and Italy had set the example by demanding the organization of constitutional governments, 
the Portuguese followed in their lead and insisted on the convocation of the Cortes for the 
purpose of forming a constitutional charter. One of the first acts of this body was to publish 
a manifesto in which all the evils existing in the form of reduced revenues and a general 
retrograde movement in Portuguese affairs were traced to the residence of the royal family and 
court at Rio de Janeiro instead of at Lisbon, and the opening of the ports of Brazil to the vessels 
of all nations, which threatened the extinction of the manufactures and commerce of Portugal. 

The sympathies of the European residents and the military in Brazil were with the 
Cortes; and King Joao was induced through their influence to sign a decree stating that he 


SCENE IN THE GARDENS OF CATTETE PALACE, RIO DE JANEIRO. 


36 POHESNEH SR RA AL 


would return to Portugal and leave the kingdom of Brazil in charge of his son, Dom Pedro, 
as regent, until the general constitution of the Portuguese nation should be established. But 
the Brazilians opposed the departure of the king, and having good reason to fear that the 
new constitution to be framed by the Cortes would be constructed in such a manner as to 
favor Portugal at the expense of Brazil, they decided that the Spanish constitution should 
be the one adopted, and sent a deputation to the king, requiring its immediate acceptance. 
King Joao gave his royal assent, anxious to conciliate all parties and having constantly in 
mind the unhappy fate of the French King Louis XVI. The day after he had received the 
Brazilian deputation, the king issued a decree annulling all that had been enacted the previous 
evening; conferred the dignity and attributes of regent on Dom Pedro, and formed a new 
ministry, in which the Count of Arcos, chief adviser and confidant of Dom Pedro, was made 
Minister of Foreign Affairs, and of the Interior and Justice. Two days afterward, King Joao 
embarked for Portugal, accompanied by a large suite. 

It is related that in the final interview with his son at the palace of S40 Christovdo, the 
king, who looked upon the independence of Brazil as already assured, thus counselled 
the young prince: “‘ Pedro, if such an event should occur, put the crown on thine own head 
before some adventurer lays hold of it.” And in one of a published collection of his letters, 
written during the war of independence, Dom Pedro reminds his father of this advice, and 
even recalls the place and the room where their conversation on this subject was held. 
Dom Pedro acted upon his father’s advice; but when he put on the crown of Brazil, it 
meant a new regime, which limited the power of the monarch and gave larger liberties to 
the people. 


STATUE OF DOM PEDRO I. 


7 ioe r 
= tor 4 | | 
Bea) 


oe 


“” 


WONVUldA dO ATdld FHL 


NO ‘1IZVu¥d AO AONACNAdHGNI AHL SO NOILVWV100Ud 


CHAPTER II 


NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE 


STATUE OF THE VISCOUNT DE RIO-BRANCO. 


HE Prince Dom Pedro became regent of 
the empire at twenty-two years of age. 

He was handsome, active, energetic, fond of 
hunting and all outdoor sports, had a taste 
for mechanics, loved the arts, particularly 
music, in which he excelled. In 1818 he 
married the Archduchess Leopoldina of Aus- 
tria, and of this union there were two chil- 
dren, Dom Jodo Carlos, Prince de Beira, 
who died in childhood, and Donna Maria de 
Gloria, afterward Queen Maria I]. of Portugal. 
From the first establishment of the re- 
gency, the Portuguese element in the new 
country seems to have been in constant 
opposition to all liberal efforts on the part 
of the government in behalf of Brazil. It 
insisted on the dismissal of the Count of 
Arcos from the ministry, the placing of the 
army under the authority of a military com- 
mission, and the appointment of a junta 
responsible to the Cortes of Lisbon, without 
whose approbation no law should be pro- 


mulgated or any important business decided upon. Dom Pedro acceded to all these 
demands; but when, in addition, the Cortes of Lisbon passed a law that all the provinces 
should be detached from the central government at Rio, and made subject directly to the 
administration of Portugal, he became incensed by the efforts made to nullify his power 
and reduce Brazil again to the condition of a mere colony. Added to this was the trying 


39 


40 THE NEW BRAZIL 


dilemma in which he found himself in consequence of the financial embarrassment of the 
country. Notwithstanding its advantages, the establishment of the Portuguese court in Rio 
had not been an unmixed blessing. A host of impecunious followers had come over with 
the royal family, caring nothing for the progress of Brazil, regarding their stay as merely 
temporary, and desirous of enriching themselves at the expense of the Brazilian treasury. 
~The extravagance of the court was enormous, and the household of the royal family alone 
cost the country annually over half a million pounds sterling. Besides this the king made 
many gifts to his followers, which had a depleting effect on the treasury. Then, when his 
Majesty returned to Portugal, accompanied by his entire suite, numbering about three thou- 
sand, they exchanged all the paper money in their possession for bullion, so that the Bank 
of Brazil was reduced to embarrassing straits, the government debt to the bank at that time 
amounting to considerably more than the actual capital of the institution. This financial 
stress was keenly felt by the regent, who wrote to his father: “There are no longer any 
funds, and I do not know how to obtain them.” 

The people of Brazil did not feel particularly friendly toward their Portuguese cousins, 
because of the arbitrary attitude which the latter assumed toward them; and when two 
despotic decrees, sent from Portugal by the Cortes, were received at Rio,—one of them 
commanding the organization of a provisional government which should reduce the country 
again to the condition of a province, and the other ordering the immediate return of the 
prince regent, Dom Pedro, to Portugal,—the spirit of rebellion blazed up in one consuming 
outburst; the newspapers were filled with revolutionary editorials and letters; and the 
people of Sado Paulo and Minas Geraes spoke in united voice against what was termed “an 
illegal, impious, and impolitic measure.” An address drawn up in the name of these two 
States by Dom José Bonifacio de Andrada, containing the following indignant protest, best 
shows the state of feeling that prevailed: ““How dare those deputies of Portugal, without 
deigning to wait for the concurrence of those of Brazil, legislate on a matter which involves 
the most sacred interests of the entire kingdom? How dare they deprive Brazil of her 
privy council, her court of conscience, her exchequer, her board of commerce, her court of 
requests, and so many other institutions just established among us, and which promised 
us such future benefits? Where now must the people apply in their civil and judicial 
concerns? Must they once more, after enjoying for twelve years the advantages of speedy 
justice, seek it in a foreign land, across two thousand leagues of ocean, amid the procrastina- 
tions and corruptions of Lisbon tribunals, where the oppressed suitor is abandoned by hope 
and lifer” This address concluded with an appeal to the prince to remain in Brazil, and not 
suffer himself to be “led about like a school-boy surrounded by masters and spies.” The 
prince regent’s reply was prompt and decided: “As it appears to be the general wish and 
for the general good, I will remain.” 

A new ministry was formed January 16, 1822, with Dom José Bonifacio de Andrada as 
Home Secretary and Minister for Foreign Affairs, his brother, Martim Francisco de Andrada, 
also becoming a member of the cabinet a few months later. It was the original intention to 


NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE AI 


preserve the union with Portugal, but to have a parliament at Rio. Deputies were sent 
to the Cortes to urge the adoption of this plan, and to voice the general sentiment against 
the demands of the Cortes, as contained in the decrees sent over to Brazil. 

The young prince showed himself to be possessed of great energy and decision of 
character, judging from his prompt method of dealing with affairs at this time. On the 
16th of February, he issued a decree calling the chief iegislators of the provinces of Brazil to 
assemble in Rio de Janeiro. On the 25th of the same month, he issued another, declaring 
that no law promulgated by the parliament of Lisbon should be obeyed in Brazil without 
his sanction. When it was announced that there was opposition to his authority over Minas 
Geraes, he immediately went to that province, visited all the villages and towns, won the 


YPIRANGA, MONUMENT ON THE SITE OF THE PROCLAMATION OF BRAZILIAN INDEPENDENCE, SAO PAULO. 


loyalty of the whole people, and returned followed by acclamations. When public notices 
appeared of hostile measures taken. by the government of Portugal against Brazil, Dom Pedro 
accepted the title ‘“‘ Perpetual Defender of Brazil,” which, in the name of the people, was 
offered him, on the 13th of May, by the senate of the municipal chamber. 

Dom Pedro did not, at first, show any intention of seeking to establish an independent 
empire in Brazil. He declared only against the infringement of his rights as regent of the 
kingdom. In a proclamation issued August 17, 1822, he announces: 


“The dignity and power of regent of this vast empire, that the king, my august father, 
had granted to me, having been confirmed to me by the unanimous consent and spontaneous 


42 THE NEW BRAZIL 


will of the people of Brazil, a dignity of which the Cortes of Lisbon, without any of the 
deputies of Brazil being heard, has dared to deprive me, as is notorious; and I, moreover, 
having accepted the title and 
duties of perpetual defender of 
this kingdom that the same 
people have so generously and 
so loyally conferred upon me; 
in obedience, therefore, to my 
sacred duties, and in gratitude 
for so much love and fidelity, 
which call upon me to take all 
the measures indispensable to 
the salvation of this greatest 
portion of the Portuguese mon- 
-archy, that has been confided 
to me, and whose rights I have 
sworn to preserve uninjured by 
any attack; and inasmuch as 
the Cortes of Lisbon continues 
in the same erroneous and evi- 
dently unjust system of recolo- 
nizing Brazil even by force of 
arms, notwithstanding that she 
has already proclaimed her 
INTERIOR VIEW OF YPIRANGA. political independence and has 

. gone so far that there is already 

convened, by my royal decree of the 3d of June last past, a general, constitutional and 
legislative assembly, at the request of all the chambers, thus proceeding with a formality 
that did not take place in Portugal, where the convening of the Congress was originally 
only an act of ‘secret and factious clubs; and I also considering his Majesty the king, 
Dom Joao VI., of whose name and authority the Cortes endeavors to avail itself for its own 
sinister purposes, as a prisoner in that kingdom, without any will of his own, and without 


that liberty of action that is given to the executive power in constitutional monarchies,—I | 


command, having first heard my council of State, all the provisional juntas of government, 
generals, military commandants, and all the constituted authorities to whom the execution 
of this decree may appertain, as follows: 

“|. That all and whatever troops that shall be sent from Portugal or elsewhere to Brazil 
without my previous consent, upon whatever pretext, be reputed enemies; but without 
interruption to the commercial and friendly relations between both kingdoms, for the 
preservation of the political union that I greatly desire to maintain. 


“ 


NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE 43 


“I. That if they arrive peaceably, they shall immediately return, furnished with provi- 
sions and supplies necessary for their voyage back. 

“III. That, in case said troops shall not obey these orders, and shall dare to land, they 
be driven back by force of arms, putting into execution, if necessary, all means to burn the 
vessels and sink the boats in which the troops may attempt to land. 

“TV. That if, notwithstanding all these efforts, it shall happen that the troops get pos- 
session of any port or part of Brazil, the inhabitants shall retire to the interior and carry on 
against them a war of posts 
and guerrillas until freed from 
the enemy. 

eve aaenit shall, ber the 
duty of all the competent mili- 
tary and civil authorities to for- 
tify all the ports of Brazil, under 
Strict and severe responsibility. 

“VI. The civil and military 
authorities to whom appertain 
the execution of this, my royal 
decree, are to fulfil it, and cause 
it to be fulfilled, with all due 
zeal, energy, and promptitude, 
under the responsibility of being 
guilty of high treason if they 
Shall fail to do so. 

“Palace of Rio de Janeiro, 
the 17th of August, one thou- 
sand eight hundred and twenty- 
two. By his Royal Highness 
the Prince Regent,” etc. 


In a manifesto signed 
“Prince Regent,” Dom Pedro 
calls upon the Brazilians to 
unite themselves “with inter- 
est, love, and hope; to com- 
mand the august Assembly of Brazil to manage the helm of State with justice and prudence. 
He urges: “Let no other shout be issued from your lips but ‘union’; let no other word be 
reiterated from the Amazon to La Plata but ‘independence’; let all our provinces be strongly 
chained in unanimity not to be broken by any force; let old prejudices be banished, substi- 
tuting in their place the love of the public good.” His closing words are full of enthusiastic 


CORRIDOR OF YPIRANGA. 


44 THE NEW BRAZIL 


patriotism: “Brazilians! friends! let us unite ourselves; [am your companion, I am your 
defender; let us obtain, as the only reward of all our toils, the honor, glory, and prosperity 
of Brazil; for the accomplishment of which I shall always be at your front in the most 
dangerous places! Permit me to convince you that your felicity depends on mine. It is 
my glory to rule an upright, valiant, and free people. Give me the example of your virtues 
and of your union, and be assured that I shall be worthy of you.” This manifesto gave 
zest to the popular sentiment. 

It soon became evident that it would be impossible for Brazil to continue united with 
Portugal under existing conditions; and the crisis was precipitated, first, by the antagonistic 
and even insulting attitude maintained in the Cortes toward the Brazilian deputies, who 
were silenced ignominiously when they attempted to speak in behalf of their country’s 
cause; and, secondly, by the passage of a decree ignoring all Brazilian claims, and peremp- 
torily ordering the prince regent to Europe. The effect of this news upon the prince is well 
known, as recorded in the dramatic story of “Ypiranga,” the name of a little stream in the 
province of Sao Paulo, made famous in history as the birthplace of Brazilian independence. 
It was here that the prince, as he and his friends were returning from a hunting-party, 
received the dispatches containing news of the last act of the Cortes. Upon reading them, 
the prince called his followers to his side, and, with the watchword, “Independencia ou 
Morte!” declared that he would never leave Brazil, but would be her protector and defender 
against the wrongs that Portugal sought to heap upon her. This was on September 7, 1822, 
and on October 12, 1822, Dom Pedro was proclaimed Constitutional Emperor of Brazil, 
the ceremony of his inauguration taking place on the rst of the following December. The 
magnificent museum ‘of Ypiranga, which to-day marks the site of this famous occurrence 
in Brazilian history, is a fitting monument in honor of the great event. Upon his return to 
Rio a few days after the scene at Ypiranga, the prince appeared at the theatre, wearing on 
his arm a green badge, with the motto, in letters of gold, “Independencia ou Morte.” The 
people, as he entered, arose in a delirium of enthusiasm and greeted him with tumultuous 
applause. 

The coronation ceremony took place in the chapel attached to the palace, and was a 
brilliant affair. In the evening, the new emperor attended the grand opera, and his appear- 
ance was the signal for prolonged cheers and shouts of “Viva o Imperador!”” The empire. 
was established with comparatively little opposition. The Portuguese troops were soon 
dismissed from Rio; in July of the following year, they evacuated Bahia, and later in the 
same year capitulated at Maranhdo, at Para, and at Montevideo. Before the end of 1825, 
Portugal gave up the fight, and recognized the independence of Brazil, the new empire 
assuming, as the price of her freedom, debts. amounting to nearly ten million dollars. On 
the 2d of December, 1825, the Prince Dom Pedro, afterward Emperor Dom Pedro II., was 
born, at Rio de Janeiro. 

The following account of a Brazilian woman’s heroism makes an interesting addition to 
the history of this period. Donna Maria Quiteria de Jesus Medeiros, a Bahian girl, hearing 


NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE 45 


her father lament that he had no son to fight in the cause of Brazilian independence, dis- 
guised herself as a soldier and enlisted in the artillery. This proving too hard a service, she 
succeeded in changing to the light infantry called the ‘‘ Volunteers of the Prince,” and served 
until the end of the war. She led a troop of Bahian Amazons against the Lusitanians who 
were attempting to land near the mouth of the Paraguassu, and drove them back, for which 
heroic service she was knighted by Dom Pedro I., and decorated with the “Imperial Order 
of the Cruzeiro.” 

During the year previous to the final recognition of Brazilian independence by the 
mother country, the northern provinces, led by Pernambuco, revolted against the new 


PALACE OF DOM PEDRO II., NOW THE NATIONAL MUSEUM, SAO CHRISTOVAO, RIO DE JANEIRO. 


government and disclaimed its authority, which they asserted was being maintained in the 
interests of Portugal rather than of Brazil, and they declared their independence under an 
alliance entitled ‘The Federation of the Equator.’” Their chief leader was Manoel Carvalho 
Paes de Andrada, the elected president of Pernambuco, whom the central government had 
attempted to replace by one of the emperor’s favorites, but without success, the inhabitants 
of Pernambuco refusing to acknowledge any authority except that of their elected presi- 
dent. Carvalho led the revolutionists against the imperial forces with skill and bravery, 
engaging General Barreto’s army by land while a small naval force blockaded them by sea. 
Lord Cochrane was sent to codperate with Barreto’s troops and to blockade the city of 


46 VHESNEVW SBIAZIL 


Pernambuco, and troops under General Lima were dispatched to reinforce those of Barreto. 
By their united efforts, the imperial forces finally succeeded in entering Pernambuco, and 
driving Carvalho back to the parish of- Recife, where, having burned the bridge connecting 
it with the city, he and his followers entrenched themselves and opened fire on the im- 
perialists. They were, however, defeated at last, and three of their number executed,— 
Ratcliff, Metrowich, and Loureiro; Carvalho escaped. 

The next year, 1825, the unpopular war in the Cisplatine province began, lasting three 
years and resulting in the independence of Uruguay. It created an important addition to the 
national debt of Brazil, which was already too burdensome to be borne by the people with- 
out many evidences of discontent and dissatisfaction. In 1826, by the death of King Dom 
Joao VI., Dom Pedro succeeded to the throne of Portugal, and immediately abdicated in 
favor of his daughter, Donna Maria. The Marquis de Barbacena was appointed to accompany 
the young princess, who had been created Duchess of Oporto, to Europe, where she was to 
be received at Genoa by her aunt, the ex-Empress of France, Marie Louise, and Count 
Leibzeltern, and taken to Vienna. Information obtained at Gibraltar, however, led to a 
change of these plans, and the princess was taken to England, returning soon afterward to 
Brazil. A scheme for her marriage to her uncle, Dom Miguel, with a view to uniting the 
rival claims to the Portuguese throne, was not carried out, and Dom Miguel seized the crown, 
though he was afterward forced to surrender it to Donna Maria, who became Queen Maria II. 
a few years later. 

Not long after the death of his royal father, and in the same year, 1826, the emperor 
sustained a second bereavement in the death of the Empress of Brazil. It was the occasion 
of national mourning, as the empress was greatly beloved for her generous charities and 
esteemed for many noble qualities. The emperor was in the south at the time of the 
empress’s death. He received the news with every demonstration of grief, and, the gossips 
Say, with some show of remorse; for the empress, though a faithful wife and an affectionate 
mother, had received very little consideration from her gay and pleasure-loving spouse. 
It is said that the emperor never forgave the Marquis de Barbacena, the diplomat who 
arranged his marriage, for not having brought him a more beautiful and fascinating princess. 
The Empress of Brazil presented a striking contrast in mind and morals to her sister Marie 
Louise, the second wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, being as serious and devout as the other 
was frivolous and worldly. 

The popularity which the emperor enjoyed when he ascended the throne was short- 
lived. From the first, his actions seem to have been open to the adverse criticism of the 
Liberal party, who strongly opposed his tendency to be guided by Portuguese influences 
and his high-handed methods of governing. Among his first unpopular acts were the dis- 
missal of the ministry of the Andradas, who had been the most staunch promoters and 
supporters of the independent movement; his appointment of the Paranaguaé ministry a few 
months later, composed of the extreme Conservative element; and his dissolution of parlia- 
ment the day after this appointment, when six deputies were made prisoners and banished 


NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE 47 


to Europe, among them the Andrada brothers. The ministry of Sao Leopoldo succeeded 
that of the Marquis of Paranagua, and was similar in character. The continual change of 
ministries which marked the entire course of Dom Pedro’s reign, together with the charge 
made by the Liberals, that he 
was trying to establish an ab- 
solute monarchy, is held re- 
sponsible for a large share 
of the popular dissatisfaction. 
On the 2oth of November, 1827, 
the ministry of the Marquis de 
Olinda took office, but difficul- 
ties growing out of the em- 
peror’s dismissal of the minister 
of war led to the resignation of 
its members, and a new cabinet 
was formed under Clemente 
Pereira. This, like its successor, 
the second ministry of the Mar- 
quis of Paranagua, encountered 
lively opposition in the Cham- 
ber of Deputies and in the 
press. Federalist and Repub- 
lican journals sprang up in in- 
creasing numbers and influence 
at this time, and played an im- 
portant part in politics. 

On the 19th of March, 1831, 
Dom Pedro appointed a lib- THE CROWN-PRINCESS ISABEL, REGENT OF THE EMPIRE. 
eral ministry; but this apparent 
effort to conciliate the opposing party failed. When this ministry was soon afterward dis- 
missed, and a cabinet composed exclusively of senators named to take its place, a popular 
uprising resulted, and the return of the dismissed ministry was demanded. It was a critical 
moment. The people had lost patience and their attitude left no room for doubt as to their 
final purpose. The emperor was ina most dangerous situation; the Imperial Guard deserted 
him, and his followers, against whom the popular clamor was especially directed, were 
obliged to look for a place of greater safety than the emperor’s palace, surrounded as it now 
was by an angry and threatening populace. To the honor of the Brazilian character be it 
said, no violence was offered to the emperor, under circumstances which would have 
impelled almost any popular mob to deeds of cowardice. The whole capital was in the 
hands of the people, the police and the soldiery were with them, the emperor was helpless 


48 THE NEW BRAZIL 


in their power; yet, an innate appreciation of the dignity of human life and respect for the 
Constitution which, they claimed, was strong enough to secure them their inalienable rights, 
sufficed to keep them from committing a crime like that which blackens the annals of the 
French Revolution. 

Notwithstanding the apparently helpless position of the emperor, he at first indignantly 
refused to listen to any demands made by an angry and irresponsible populace. But finally 
realizing the strength of the opposition, and perhaps anxious to go to Portugal where his 
daughter’s right to the throne needed protection against the usurping Dom Miguel, he called 
back the messenger he had dismissed, and bade him wait while he wrote his last message 
to his Brazilian subjects. In the farewell proclamation, he said: “Availing myself of the 
right which the Constitution gives me, I declare that I have voluntarily abdicated in favor of 
my dearly beloved and esteemed son, Dom Pedro de Alcantara. TI shall retire to Europe, 
and leave a country that I have always loved and still love.” Dom Pedro I. died in 1834, 
having enjoyed the satisfaction of seeing his son received as Emperor of Brazil, and his 
daughter enthroned as Queen of Portugal. : 

The little prince Dom Pedro was only five years of age when he succeeded his father 
on the throne of Brazil as the Emperor Dom Pedro II. During his minority, the country 
was governed at first by a regency, composed of three 
members elected by the legislative chambers, and after- 
ward by a single regent chosen by all the electors in 
the same manner as the deputies. At this time, the 
councils of the provinces were replaced by legislative 
provincial assemblies. In 1835, Father Diogo Antonio 
Feij6, of Sdo Paulo, was chosen regent. He had previ- 
ously held the office of Prime Minister, and is described 
as “a man of iron will, prompt action, and unhesitating 
decision.” During his ministry, there were innumer- 
able disturbances throughout the country, the result of 
unsettled conditions following the abdication of Dom 
Pedro I. Many parties and cliques were organized, 
and there was an imperative demand for various rights 
and reforms. There were the “Restoradores,’ who 
wanted Dom Pedro I. back again; the “Moderate Lib- 
erals,” of which Vasconcellos and Evaristo da Veiga 
were the powerful chiefs; the “Liberal Exaltado,” com- 
posed largely of men holding republican principles; 
VISCOUNT DE RIO-BRANCO. _ the “Separatists”; the “Society of the Defenders of 


Liberty and National Independence,” and others. Civil _ 


war caused bloodshed in Pernambuco, Parad, Bahia, Maranhdo, and more especially in 
Rio Grande do Sul, where it lasted ten years. j 


“ 


NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE 49 


After two years as regent, FeijO resigned, and the Marquis de Olinda succeeded him. 
His rule failing to satisfy all parties, it was demanded that the young emperor should be 
given his majority, and, in 1840, in the fif- 
teenth year of his age, this event took place, 
his accession being hailed with general re- 
joicing. Two political parties were rivals for 
the ruling power all through the reign of Dom 
Pedro II., the Conservatives and the Liberals. 
At the time of the emperor’s accession, the 
Liberals held sway, but they were soon dis- 
placed by the Conservatives, the two parties 
afterward superseding each other in the polit- 
ical leadership at varying intervals of from 
four to eight years, though the Liberals gained 
ground constantly, and at one time there was 
a union of the two parties under their banner. 
This did not last long, however, but it was 
one of the “signs of the times.” The Liberal 
party became more thoroughly imbued with 
republican ideas and principles, and the Con- 
Servatives recognized the necessity of modi- 
fying their policy to meet the demands of the 
hour. There were many changes in both DR. ANTONIO DA SILVA PRADO, 
parties, Some former Conservatives allying 
themselves with the Liberals,and a few who had been prominent in the Liberal party 
going over to the Conservatives. It was the “leavening process” in the political progress 
of affairs. 

The civil war-in Rio Grande do Sul, which had lasted ten years, was terminated by 
General de Caxias, on March 1, 1845, and peace hovered over the banner of Brazil until 
some Six years later, when the government lent the assistance of her squadron and army to 
Uruguay in a fight against the Argentine dictator Rosas. Through an alliance negotiated by 
the Brazilian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Paula de Souza, the independence of Uruguay was 
again established, freedom of navigation in the tributaries of the river Plata being declared at 
the same time. In 1864, however, a dispute arose, and Brazil declared war against Uruguay. 
Under the commands of Generals Barreto and Flores and Admiral Tamandaré, her military 
and naval forces attacked Montevideo, and took Paysandu. 

One of the most terrible wars in history was that waged against the Paraguayan 
dictator, Lopez, by the allied forces of Brazil, the Argentine, and Uruguay. It began in 186s, 
and lasted until 1870, when scarcely a man was left of the whole Paraguayan population. 
The country was reduced to a deplorable condition, from which it is just now beginning to 


50 THE NEW BRAZIL 


recover, after more than a quarter of a century. It has been called a war of national vindi- 
cation. Lopez had invaded the territory of all three of the countries forming the alliance, 
and in'sheer revenge (it is said because the emperor had refused him the hand of his 
daughter in marriage) he attacked a Brazilian vessel on its way up the river to Matto Grosso 
in November, 1864. The Triple Alliance determined to crush the lawless bandit, and on 
May 1, 1865, began a long and terrible war, of which Brazil supported the bulk of the 
burden. General Mitre, at that time President of the Argentine Republic, had command of 
the allied armies during the first years of the war. On the 7th of January, 1865, the Brazilian 
Prime Minister, Francisco José Furtado, issued the decree which called out the ‘“ Voluntarios 
da Patria,” and the splendid battalions that responded to his call paid a tribute to the wisdom 
of the distinguished statesman at once gratifying and deserved. The magnificent service of 
these troops in the field was a convincing proof of Brazilian bravery and patriotism. At the 
same time, the navy was reconstructed, and orders were given for the immediate building 
of the first Brazilian iron-clads in the naval arsenal of the capital. The Brazilians started out 
with the naval victory of Riachuelo, gained by Admiral Barroso over the Paraguayan squad- 
ron, which threatened at first to destroy that of Brazil by the superiority of its naval force, 
aided by batteries suddenly unmasked on the high bank of the river. The scene on board 
the Brazilian ship Parnahyba was one of fearful carnage, the quarter-deck being drenched 
with blood when the enemy boarded her from their four vessels, overwhelming her brave 
defenders. But the onslaught was as temporary as it had been sudden, and the power of 
the- Paraguayan fleet was effectually crushed by the Brazilians. 

A Paraguayan division which advanced on the right bank of the Uruguay was destroyed 
at Yatay by the allies under the command of General Flores, President of the Republic 
Oriental. Another branch of the army, which had penetrated into the Brazilian province 
of Rio Grande do Sul, was besieged at Uruguayana and forced to lay down arms. The 
Emperor Dom Pedro II. then took command of the allies, and it was in this encampment 
that he received the minister Thornton, sent by England to arrange a renewal of diplomatic 
relations with Brazil which were broken in 1863. Lopez abandoned his position, and retired 
to meet his enemies on Paraguayan territory, behind the line of the Parana. In 1866, the 
allies succeeded in crossing this river and seizing the first outposts after three battles: Con- 
fluencia, in which the Brazilian general Osorio had command; Desterro Bellaco, led by 
Generals Flores and Osorio; and Tujuty, where Generals Mitre, Osorio, and Flores united 
their forces. They were obliged, however, to remain inactive, waiting for reinforcements, 
before the entrenchments of the enemy. At the same time, in the month of July, the allies 
attempted an attack on the coast of Sauce, but without success. When the first reinforce- 
ments arrived, the Brazilian general Porto Alegre took possession of Curuzi; but some days 
after, the same general and President Mitre failed in the assault of Curupaity. The Brazilian 
captain, Vital de Oliveira, commanding the iron-clad Sz/vado, was killed in this engagement. 

The next year, Brazil concentrated the command of her armies, by land and sea, under 
Marshal de Caxias, and nearly all the Argentine army retired to repress revolts and resistances 


NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE £1 


among their provincial governors. After several months of forced inaction, owing to the 
ravages of cholera, and after the departure of General Mitre for Buenos Aires, Marshal de 
Caxias began operations against the fortifi- 
cations of Humayta. The Brazilian cuirassiers, 
under Admiral Inhauma, forced the passage 
of Curupaity in 1867, and that of Humayta 
in the following year, under Commodore 
Delphim de Carvalho. At the same time, 
- Marshal de Caxias seized all the defences 
raised on this side of the river, also those of 
Tebicuary, and proceeded northward to attack 
the lines of Angostura and Pikysyry, which 
covered the road to the capital. He gained 
the victories of Itérér6, Avay, and Lomas 
Valentinas, in the month of December, 1868, 
which gave to the allies possession of all the 
west part of the country. But Lopez had 
escaped to the interior, where he succeeded 
in organizing a new army. 

The last campaign of the war was con- 
ducted by the Count d’Eu, in 1869 and 1870, 
when the Brazilians took by assault the town 
of Piribebuy, crushed the greater part of the 
army of Lopez at the battle of Campo Grande, and pursued the vanquished in all directions, 
to the depths of the deserts and the forests of eastern and northern Paraguay. After several 
minor engagements, General Camara surprised the Lopez encampment at Cerro Cora, on a 
branch of the Aquidaban, March 1, 1870. The dictator, who had only a thousand men in 
his following, was killed while attempting to escape, and the war was brought to an end. 
The treaty of 1872 fixed the frontiers. 

During the reign of Dom Pedro II., the Crown-Princess Isabel was three times regent 
of the empire: from May 25, 1871, to March 30, 1872; frome March 26, 1876, to Septem- 
ber 25, 1877, during the emperor’s visit to the United States; and from June 30, 1887, to 
August 21, 1888. Under the last regency was effected one of the greatest reforms in the 
history of the nation, the emancipation of all slaves within Brazilian territory. It was not 
altogether an unforeseen event, as the gradual abolition of the slave traffic had been going 
on for many years, and it was only a question of a comparatively short time when the evil 
would have ceased to exist under the laws already in effect at the time of the princess 
regent’s proclamation. The number of slaves in Brazil had been reduced from two anda 
half millions in 1854 to a little over half a million in 1888. The signing of the emancipation 
bill was, nevertheless, an act requiring both courage and decision, especially in view of the 


DR. JOAO ALFREDO CORREA DE OLIVEIRA. 


52 THE NEW BRAZIL 


circumstances. For it was well known that, in the event of her succession (the emperor’s 
abdication was regarded as an approaching certainty), Isabel would have to look for her 
chief support to that class whose interests she was imperilling by giving her consent to the 
liberation of the slaves. Indeed, it has been claimed that this act was responsible, in a great 
measure, for the absence of any support from among the friends of the empire in the hour 
of her direst need. Nevertheless, when this view of the case was afterward presented to 
the princess, she replied that she did not regret her action, but would do the same thing 
again under the same circumstances. 

Before giving the history of the final emancipation bill, it is necessary to record the 
various steps of the progress made toward this end, in order to appreciate the situation fully. 
The history of slave-traffic in Brazil dates back to the sixteenth century, the first contract for 
the importation of slaves having been signed in Rio de Janeiro in 1583. The question of 
emancipation was agitated early in the colonial days, Abbé Manoel Ribeiro Rocha, of Bahia, 
having published a work, in Lisbon, in 1758, called ‘‘Ethiope Resgatado,” pleading both for 
the liberation of slaves after a time of service sufficient to repay their masters for their 


Soe eae 


He HMA Aa) OHO EDAD JORDDE ORB 


OLD CARIOCA AQUEDUCT, RIO DE JANEIRO. 


purchase, and for the freedom of the children of slave women after reaching fifteen 
years of age. The Correo Bragiliense published articles in 1808-1822 urging the gradual 


NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE 53 


emancipation of slaves. In 1810, Velloso de Oliveira, of Sado Paulo, in a memorial to the Prince 
Regent Dom Jodo, spoke of granting freedom to the children of slave mothers. In 1822, a 


| | 


AAS a say 


OLD CARIOCA AQUEDUCT SEEN FROM BELOW 


proposition for the restriction of the slave-trade was presented to the Cortes at Lisbon by 
one of the Brazilian deputies, Borges de Barros, of Bahia, afterward Viscount de Pedra 
Branca; but as the Cortes was paying little heed to any suggestions from Brazil just at that 
particular time, nothing came of it. The importation of slaves was opposed by Domingos 
Moniz Barreto in 1814, and by Maciel da Costa in 1821. Dr. Antonio Ferreira Franca, deputy 
from Bahia, offered a project about this time for gradual abolition. Dom José Bonifacio de 
Andrada took up the question with his characteristic vigor, and in a memorial published in 
1825 presented a plan for emancipation. During his exile in Europe, this great man, who 
has been called the ‘“‘ Father of Brazilian Independence,” continued to work for the abolition 
cause. He was permitted to return to his beloved country in 1829, and was appointed 
guardian to the second emperor, upon the abdication of Dom Pedro I. He exerted a 
powerful influence in behalf of emancipation, speaking and writing in its favor whenever 
the opportunity was presented. When he finally retired from public life and took up his 
residence on the picturesque island of Paqueta, where he spent the few remaining years of 
his life, he still took an interest in the great movement toward the freedom of the slaves. 
In 1830, the Chamber of Deputies was asked to consider a proposal for the gradual abolition 
of slavery, to be consummated by March 25, 1881; and, two years later, a project was 


54 THE NEW BRAZIL 


submitted to their consideration which declared all new-born children free. But the 
Chamber was not ready for such radical measures, and refused to consider them. A 
law was, however, passed in 1830, making the importation of slaves illegal, but it was 
constantly evaded. 

In 1849, a circumstance occurred which gave a new impetus to the anti-slavery move- 
ment. The first case of yellow fever was brought over to Brazil that year in a slave-ship, 
and the ravages of the disease were more eloquent as arguments against the traffic than the 
most inspired speeches on the subject. Gradually, an abolition party was formed, and, as 
far as consistent with his constitutional obligations, the emperor was its protecting patron. 
Measures favorable to the slaves continued to be urged by prominent leaders from this time 
forward. In 1854, the minister Eusebio de Queiros secured the passage of a bill for sup- 
pressing the trade, which was rigorously enacted, and the old law of 1830, forbidding the 
importation of slaves, was no longer, in practice, a “dead letter.” Plans for gradual eman- 
cipation, presented to the emperor by the Marquis de Sado Vicenté, were examined by the 
Council of State, but action on them was delayed by the breaking-out of the Paraguayan 
war. AS soon as peace was restored, however, the question received renewed attention, 
and a project for gradual emancipation, proposed by Viscount de Cruzeiro, was drawn up 
by a committee of the Chamber of Deputies, August 15, 1870. The following year marked 
a great victory for the Abolition party, in the passage of the famous “ Rio-Branco” law, 
secured by the Prime Minister, J. M. da Silva Paranhos, Viscount de Rio-Branco, Septem- 
ber 28, 1871, after a parliamentary struggle of five months. This law abolished slavery in 
principle, declaring that all children should be born free, and remain only until their majority 
in the service of the masters of their mothers in order to pay for the expenses of rearing and 
education; and making it obligatory on all masters to register the nationality, birthplace, 
and age of their slaves. All slaves not registered in the annual census were considered free. 

The deathknell of slavery was really sounded by the passage of the Rio-Branco law, 
which effectively destroyed the sources of its vitality. The author, the Viscount de Rio- 
Branco, was one of the greatest statesmen in the history of Brazil and the central figure in 
Brazilian politics under the empire. As President of the Council, Minister of War, Minister 
of Finance, and three times Minister of Foreign Affairs, his services to his beloved country 
were distinguished by absolute devotion to its highest interests. His last term of office as 
Foreign Minister covered a period of seven years, from 1871 to 1878, being the longest time 
that any minister in Brazil has held this portfolio, with the single exception of the present 
chief of the Foreign Office, Baron de Rio-Branco, the son of that noble and illustrious states- 
man. The genius of Viscount de Rio-Branco was both profound and versatile, and his 
recognized loyalty and patriotism made him greatly beloved by all Brazilians. In his hands, 
diplomacy was a powerful instrument for peace and civilization, and the most flourishing 
period of the empire owed much of its advancement to his initiative and judgment. Viscount 
de Rio-Branco was born in Bahia, March 16, 1819, and died in Rio, November 1, 1880. 
A handsome monument by the renowned sculptor Felix Charpentier, which occupies a 


NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE 55 


prominent place in the capital, is a lasting evidence of the honor and esteem in which the 
eminent statesman’s memory is held by the nation. 


THE GAVEA. 


Slavery was now destroyed at its two sources,—importation and birth. Not satisfied, 
however, with this gradual process of stamping out the evil, a new abolition party was 
formed, in 1880, declaring for immediate emancipation. Among its champions were many 
leading politicians and journalists: Senators Jaguaribe, Octaviano, and Silveira da Motta, 
Deputy Joaquim Nabuco, and the well-known journalists Ferreira de Menezes, Gusmao 
Lobo, Patrocinio, Serra, Reboucgas, Vicente de Souza, and others. The principles of this 
party were first carried into effect in Amazonas and Ceara, where slaves were freed in 1884. 
The Rio-Branco law of 1871 was supplemented by a law passed in 1885, chiefly through the 
efforts of the ministers Saraiva and Cotegipe, and the distinguished Paulista Dr. Antonio da 
Silva Prado, declaring free all slaves over sixty years of age, on condition that they should 
serve their masters another three years; marking a scale of redemption prices that would at 
the end of twelve or thirteen years make the slaves of such little money value that the trade 
would cease to exist; the value of female slaves was considered one-quarter less than males. 
The first clause of this law caused a great deal of discussion because it threatened a serious 
complication, arising out of the false registrations of ages that had been going on since the 
passage of the Rio-Branco bill, in consequence of the necessity for concealing the previous 


56 THE NEW BRAZIL 


illegal importation of slaves. This was contrary to the old law of 1830, which, as before 
mentioned, was evaded up to the year 1854. Slaves imported between 1830 and 1854, were, 
therefore, registered at an age that would admit of the supposition of their importation prior 
to 1830; as a result, the law of 1885 gave freedom to thousands of slaves actually less than 
fifty years of age, but “officially” over sixty. 

The abolition of slavery was now the vital question in Brazilian politics. The aboli- 
tionists of the north, where there were few slaves, joined with those of Sao Paulo, who, 
though the possessors of a great many slaves, were fighting for a principle, and together 
these forces advocated speedy abolition, while representatives from other provinces were 
opposed to any other method than a gradual emancipation. The Federal capital was the 
active centre of the abolition movement. In 1887, two chiefs of the Conservative party, 
Jodo Alfredo Corréa de Oliveira and Antonio da Silva Prado, declared themselves in favor of 
anew law. Senator Prado, a wealthy planter, and the owner of many hundreds of negroes, 
set the example of immediate emancipation by liberating all his slaves. Numerous other 
rich land-owners of this State followed his lead, popular sentiment being greatly influenced 
by such evidences of self-sacrifice for the sake of principle, not alone here, but throughout 
the neighboring provinces. Encouraged by the increasing efforts made in their favor, the 
Slaves on some of the plantations left em masse, and when their owners sought to recover 


t 


THE ISLAND OF PAQUETA, HOME OF DOM JOSE BONIFACIO DE ANDRADA. 


them by law and demanded that the militia should lend assistance, the abolitionists main- 
tained, as Senator Prado declared, that the army could not be called out against fugitive 


NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE 57 


slaves who had committed no crime. The Provincial Assembly of Sao Paulo voted such a 
heavy tax on slaves, that it amounted practically to a prohibition, though the vote was not 
ratified by the president of the province. Finally, the Cotegipe ministry, which favored 
gradual emancipation, resigned, and the princess regent called upon Senator Corréa de Oliveira 
to form a new ministry, which came into power on the roth of March, 1888, Senator Antonio 
da Silva Prado being one of its members. These two leaders realized the importance of 
immediate action, and at once prepared a law which was presented to the chambers by 
Roderigo Silva in the name of the cabinet, and passed almost unanimously, granting imme- 
diate liberty to all slaves, without restriction, on the roth of May, 1888. Following upon the 
vote of the Senate, the princess regent gave the law her sanction on the same day, affixing 
her signature with a handsome gold pen which had been purchased by popular subscription 
and presented to her for this purpose. The whole population of Rio rose in enthusiastic 
manifestation of joy over the event, all the large cities of the empire joining in the celebra- 
tion, which extended throughout all America. France observed July 10, 1888, as a féte-day 
in honor of the event. 

In the speech from the throne at the opening of parliament on the 3d of May, 1888, the 
princess regent had urged the passage of a bill for immediate emancipation, in the following 
language: “To the honor of Brazil, under the influence of national sentiment and individual 
liberality, the extinction of the servile element has made such progress that it is to-day a 
hope acclaimed by all classes, with many admirable examples of self-sacrifice on the part of 
proprietors. Now that private interest itself has worked spontaneously to deliver Brazil 
from the unhappy heritage which the necessities of tillage bequeathed, | feel assured that 
you will not hesitate to efface from the national law the single exception which contrasts 
with the Christian and liberal spirit of our institutions.” 

And thus the suppression of slavery marked another great event in the progress of 
Brazil, a victory won entirely in the forum of debate, after a mighty clashing of moral 
forces, it is true, but without the stain of a single drop of blood. Advancing civilization 
recognizes the higher standard of politics which is expressed by means of logical and 
just argument rather than imposed by the barbarous might of the sword; and according 
to this standard Brazil affords a noble example to all other nations of the world. There 
have been economic difficulties to face in consequence of the sudden cutting-off of the 
labor supply on the coffee plantations, but every effort has been made to promote immi- 
gration, and thus remedy the deficiency; and if some of the former wealthy land-owners 
have been reduced to poverty by the change, it is as nothing compared with the sad condi- 
tion of financial affairs that followed the emancipation of slaves in the Southern States of 
the North American republic. 

The year following was not marked by any evidences of widespread discontent. 
Naturally, there was a feeling of bitterness among some of the former slave-owners at 
the sudden deprivation which they suffered from the law that took away from them what 
they considered rightful property. But there was no tendency toward open revolt; and 


53 THE NEW BRAZIL 


when the emperor visited the province of Sao Paulo soon after the liberation of the slaves, 
he was received everywhere with demonstrations of the most friendly character. The love 
of the people for their sovereign was apparently equal to the severest test, that of self- 
interest, and in view of the generous welcome which was extended to him by those 
subjects who had sustained the greatest loss through the signing of the emancipation bill, 
it seems all the more difficult to imagine the combination of circumstances which was to 
cause the complete overthrow of his empire and his own banishment within a year from 
that time. 


SIR CHARLES STUART, THE BRITISH PLENIPOTENTIARY, DELIVERING TO DOM PEDRO I. 
HIS MAJESTY’S RECOGNITION OF THE EMPIRE OF BRAZIL. 


oF 


‘OUMISNVF 9G Od “AYNLINDIUMOV AO AOV1Vd 


CHAPTER III 
THE FALL OF THE EMPIRE AND THE GENESIS OF THE REPUBLIC 


N order to appreciate the original causes that 
led to the downfall of the empire and the 
establishment of a republic in Brazil, it is neces- 
sary to trace the political history of the country 
back to colonial days. For the principles of 
republicanism that found their final triumph in 
the events of November, 1889, were rooted deep 
‘in the Brazilian character, which has always 
been possessed of a goodly share of the New 
World spirit of independence. Even in the days 
of her swaddling clothes, her people manifested, 
in no uncertain manner, that “god-like discon- 
tent” with existing conditions which is one of 
the healthy signs of progress. 

As early as the middle of the sixteenth 
century, the crown of Portugal recognized as 
an independent State the territory then governed 
by Joao Ramalho in.the present State of Sdo 
Paulo, and gave it the name of Sdo André. It 
was really a republic in the midst of a royal colony and it thrived for more than a hundred 
years, until King Joao IV. ascended the throne of Portugal in 1640. The inhabitants had 
maintained their independence throughout the period of Spanish domination which had 
resulted from the union of the Spanish and Portuguese crowns in 1580, and they were 
prepared to refuse allegiance to the Portuguese king when the power of that monarchy 
was restored. They demanded that noblemen of disinterested Christian blood should be 
sent to govern them and refused to acknowledge any ruler who would not protect them in 


their rights. When called upon to swear allegiance to King Dom Jodo IV. of Portugal, they 
61 


MONUMENT OF THE DUKE DE CAXIAS. 


62 THE NEW BRAZIL 


brought out a ruler of their own, and would have placed him in authority had he not 
defeated their purpose by proclaiming his allegiance to the king. This republic declined, 
without its originators suspecting that they had founded one, but the spirit of independence 
and enterprise exhibited itself in their descendants, and contributed to make the Paulistas 
the energetic and progressive people they have been in the development of their country, 
always among the foremost leaders in the political and educational advancement of Brazil. 

The republican conspiracy of 1789, while it amounted to little in actual results, was, 
nevertheless, a strong influence in the development of republican principles; it was one of 
those political “straws that show which way the wind blows.” Had it not been for the re- 
moval of the Portuguese court to Brazil, which resulted in raising the struggling and oppressed 
colony to the dignity and advantages of a kingdom, with its ports open to commerce and 
its industries free to development, it is more than likely that republicanism would have 
made progress earlier than it did, and the “Tiradentes” conspiracy would have marked more 
than the beginning of a determined struggle for constitutional liberty. Under the circum- 
stances, it was, no doubt, at that time best for Brazil that events occurred as they did, for the 
new country took a long stride forward during the few years that followed the establishment 
of the court at her capital, notwithstanding the evils which attended the benefits received; 
and during all this time the independent spirit of the nation was growing healthy and 
strong. The sentiment that sprang into living action when the Cortes tried to inflict arbitrary 
measures upon the young government in 1822, was the same in principle as that which 
caused the famous “Boston Tea Party” in the New England colony. That Brazil became 
an empire instead of a republic at the time, was due, in a great measure, to the peculiar 
circumstances of her position. Even as it was, an important advance was made toward 
the destined goal when her independence from Portugal was secured and a constitutional 
system of rule established by her own people. The history of the reign of the Emperor 
Dom Pedro I. is a record of persistent and determined struggles for national liberty as 
opposed to monarchical domination. The first emperor always maintained that he was 
governing within the rights granted him by the Constitution. The people did not accept 
his views, and he was forced to abdicate. They asked the second emperor to revise the 
Constitution, which he refused to do; and when his ministers took advantage of the 
authority it gave, and imposed unjust measures, especially through the centralizing system, 
which was responsible for so many abuses in the provinces, the people became more 
and more determined in their opposition to the monarchy. Republicanism grew rapidly and 
spread its influence through all parts of the empire, the government support became weaker 
and weaker, until there was no longer any question in the public mind regarding the 
inevitable outcome, which waited only for a favorable opportunity to become manifested. 
The revolution of 1889, accomplished without bloodshed, would seem to indicate a people 
obedient to law, not prone to violent action, essentially dissatisfied with the monarchical 
system and thoroughly imbued with the republican idea. As a matter of fact, the existence 
of the imperial government had been merely tolerated for some time, and it was only a 


FALL OF THE EMPIRE AND GENESIS.OF THE REPUBLIC 63 


question of the fitness of the occasion when the change should be brought about. The 
ruling emperor, Dom Pedro II., was well beloved by his people, and it was generally 
understood that no steps would be taken to overthrow the empire during his lifetime, 
particularly as he was a man of advanced years and in failing health. But a succession of 
events occurred which led so unavoidably to the climax, that there was no possibility 
of pursuing any other 
course than the one 
chosen, which, resulted, 
in November, 1889, in 
the establishment of the 
republic and the banish- 
ment of the imperial 
family. 

The first signs of 
the approaching storm 
began to show them- 
Selves when it was ru- 
mored that the emperor 
intended to abdicate on 
the 2d of December, 
his. birthday, in favor 
of his ‘daughter, the 
Crown-Princess Donna 
Isabel, whose  acces- 
sion to the throne was 
not considered  desir- 
able. The Republican 
party, whose two chief 
strongholds consisted of 
the “Associated Republi- 
can Leagues,” organized 
mainly by Quintino Bo- 
cayuva, and the “Mili- THE STOCK EXCHANGE, RIO DE JANEIRO, 
tary Club,” founded by 
Deodoro da Fonseca at the close of the Paraswacan war, determined to thwart the imperial 
plans for the succession, and immediately began preparations toward that end. The army 
and navy were dissatisfied with the restrictions put upon their authority by the ministry, 
and the army was especially discontented because of the refusal of a petition for increased 
pay; so that the government had good reason to fear their opposition. _ In order to counter- 
act these adverse influences, the Count d’Eu, husband of the Princess Isabel, undertook to 


64 Goh INS AVA GS ZVAGH 


create a strong Imperial Guard of Honor as a counterpoise to the power of the army, in case 
the latter should actively oppose the imperial claims of the crown-princess; and, in addition 
to this movement, arrangements were made to disperse the army over the remote provinces 
of the interior, so that military opposition would thereby be effectually weakened in any 
crisis that might arise. Everything was ready for the carrying out of these projects, and 
the 15th of November was the day set for the departure of the troops to the interior; 
on that day, the government suddenly found itself facing the revolution which overcame 
it and overthrew the empire in twenty-four hours. The members of the emperor’s 
cabinet at this time were: Imperial Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Viscount 
de Ouro Preto; Minister of the Interior, Baron de Loreto; Minister of Justice, Senator 
Candido de Oliveira; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Diana; Minister of the Army, Viscount 
de Maralaj; Minister of the Navy, Baron de Ladoris; Minister of Agriculture, Laurencgo de 
Albuquerque. 

On the morning of the 15th of November, as Emperor Dom Pedro was leaving the 
imperial chapel at his summer residence in Petropolis after the service of Mass, he was 
handed a telegram from the prime minister, requesting him to come to Rio immediately, 
as insurgents had placed the city under siege, and artillery commanded the streets. The 
emperor at once complied with the request. On his arrival at the imperial palace in Rio, 
it was promptly surrounded by the revolutionary troops, and the following manifesto was 
read, proclaiming the republic: 


“Fellow-citizens: The people of the army and navy are in perfect accord with the 
sentiments of our fellow-citizens residing in the provinces. The fall of the imperial dynasty 
has just been decreed, and the consequent destruction of the monarchical system. As an 
immediate result of this national revolution, essentially patriotic in its character, there has 
just been established a provisional government whose principal mission is to guarantee the 
maintenance of public order and the protection of the liberty and rights of citizens. To carry 
on the government until the sovereign nation can, through its constitutional organization, 
Select a definite government, the undersigned citizens were appointed as the chief executive 
power of the nation. 

‘“Fellow-citizens: The Provisional Government—simply the temporary agent of the 
national sovereignty—is the government of peace, liberty, fraternity, and order. It will use 
the attributes and extraordinary powers with which it is vested for the defence of the 
subjects of the country and of public order. The Provisional Government, by all the means 
at its command, promises to guarantee to all the inhabitants of Brazil, native and foreign, 
security of life and property, and to respect their rights, both individual and political, except 
when they require to be limited for the good of the country and for the legitimate defence 
of the government proclaimed by the people, by the army, and by the navy. 

“The ordinary functions of justice, as well as those of civil and military administration, 
will continue to be exercised by those bodies heretofore existing. In regard to those holding 


FALL OF THE EMPIRE AND GENESIS OF THE REPUBLIC 65 


office, the rights acquired by each functionary will be respected. The abolition of the Senate 
is decreed, and also of the Council of State. The Chamber of Deputies is declared dissolved. 

“Fellow-citizens: The Provisional Government recognizes and acknowledges all the 
national engagements contracted by the former government: the treaties with foreign powers; 
the public debt, both in- 
ternal and foreign; the 
contracts now in force, 
and the obligations le- 
gally established.” 


This manifesto was 
signed by Marshal Deo- 
doro da Fonseca, chief 
of the Provisional Gov- 
ernment; Aristides da 
Silveira Lobo, Minister 
Of the: Interior; Ruy 
Barbosa, Minister of 
Finance and Justice; 
Benjamin Constant, Min- 
ister of War; Eduardo 
Wandenkolk, Minister of 
Marine; Quintino Boca- 
yuva, Minister of Foreign 
Affairs. 

After the reading 
of the manifesto, Dom 
Pedro held a meeting of 
his ministers and coun- 
cillors of State. He en- 
deavored to form a new 
ministry, with Saraiva at THE POST OFFICE, RIO DE JANEIRO. 
the head, but Marshal 
Deodoro da Fonseca objected to this, and sent the following message to the emperor: 
“The democratic sentiments of the nation, combined with resentment at the systematic 
repressive measures of the government against the army and navy, and the spoliation 
of their rights, have brought about the revolution. In the face of this situation, the 
presence of the imperial family is impossible. Yielding, therefore, to the exigencies of 
the national voice, the Provisional Government is compelled to request you to depart from 
Brazilian territory with your family within twenty-four hours. The government will provide 


66 THE NEW BRAZIL 


at its own expense the proper means for transport, and will afford protection for the imperial 
family during their embarkation. The government will also continue the imperial dowry 
fixed by law until the constituted Assembly decides thereon. The country expects that you 
will know how to imitate the example set by the first emperor of Brazil on April 7, 1831.” 

Dom Pedro’s answer to this communication, which was promptly sent to Fonseca on 
the same day, was as follows: “Yielding to the imperiousness of circumstances, I have 
resolved to set out with my family to-morrow for Europe, leaving this country so dear to 
us all, and to which I have endeavored to give constant proofs of deep love during the 
nearly half a century in which I have discharged the office of chief of State. While thus 
leaving with my whole family, I shall ever retain for Brazil the most heartfelt affection and 
ardent good wishes for her prosperity.” 

On the same day, the Countess d’Eu, Princess Isabel, issued the following manifesto: 
“With a broken heart I part from my friends, from the whole people of Brazil, and from my 
country, which I have so loved and still do love, toward whose happiness I have done 
my best to contribute, and for which | shall ever entertain the most ardent good wishes.” 

The Count d’Eu wrote to the Minister of War, resigning command of the artillery, and 
requesting leave to go abroad, adding that he had loyally served Brazil, and that but for the 
circumstances which obliged him to quit the country, he would be ready to serve it under 
any form of government. 

At two o’clock in the morning of the following day, General Deodoro sent one of his 
officers and a detachment of soldiers with orders to the imperial family to embark forthwith, 
it being deemed unadvisable to wait until daylight lest some demonstration in the streets 
might lead to bloodshed. The Crown-Princess Isabel, the Count d’Eu, and their children 
walked to the quay, which was but a short distance from the Palace, followed immediately 
by the emperor and empress in a carriage guarded by troops. The party embarked on a 
steam-launch, and were taken on board a man-of-war which conveyed them to Ilha Grande 
(the present quarantine station, about sixty miles from the capital), where they remained 
until the afternoon, when they were transferred to the steamship Alagoas, accompanied by 
two lieutenants of the navy commissioned to see that the steamer went direct to Lisbon. 
The Alagoas was also convoyed a part of the way by the Brazilian ironclad Riachuelo. 

The first official notification of the revolution sent abroad was directed to the Brazilian 
legation in London, and read as follows: 


“ BRAZILIAN MINISTER, LONDON: 

“The government is constituted as the ‘Republic of the United States of Brazil,’ the 
monarchy is deposed, and the imperial family have left the country. Tranquillity and 
general satisfaction prevail. The executive power is intrusted to a Provisional Government, 
whose head is Marshal Deodoro, with myself as Finance Minister. The Republic respects 
all engagements, obligations, and contracts of the State. 

“Ruy BARBOSA, Finance Minister.” 


temo THES EMPIRETAND GENESIS-OF [HE REPUBLIC 67 


It is a remarkable fact, and one without a parallel in history, that within a few days after 
the proclamation of the republic there was, in the general appearance of things, little to 
indicate that the empire had ever existed. The revolution was carried out with a sobriety, a 
coolness, an attention to detail, and a general finish about all the arrangements, which in all 
the circumstances of the case were really remarkable. Everything indicated that the leaders 
of the revolution did nothing more than peacefully enact a change upon which the heart of 
the country had long been set. 

In the carrying out of their programme, the republicans showed no animosity toward 
the old emperor, for whom, personally, there was a general feeling of regard. Their quarrel 
was not with the gentle scholar who represented in his person the monarchical government, 
but with the system itself and the constituted authorities who had abused its powers. Dom 
Pedro II. was a man of many good qualities, a student, and a lover of science. Agassiz once 
said of him: “Alas! Dom Pedro is a most unfortunate man ; ‘for, if he were not an emperor, 
he would be a scientist.” An impartial biographer describes him as “not a man born to 
rule millions.” Art, engineering, classic lore, nothing came amiss to him, and he talked 
equally well on all subjects, showing a remarkable memory and wonderful versatility. He was 
refined and courtly in manner, and scrupulously careful to avoid hurting the susceptibilities 
of others. He never refused to visit a school, a hospital, or institution of any kind; he 
was in his element in any international exhibition, equally interested in every department. 
He gave foreigners of culture a cordial welcome to his court, whatever might be their social 
position; and he expected every Brazilian to have tastes similar to his own. As a natural 
consequence, his court was noted for its culture and simplicity, and the Brazilian nobility 
were distinguished for intellectual accomplishments and refinement rather than for magnifi- 
cent display. Though Dom Pedro II. was not gifted with the more dominating qualities of 
a ruler he had the best royal blood of Europe in his veins. He was descended from the 
Hapsburgs, the Bourbons, and the Braganzas. By marriage, he was related to the royal and 
imperial families of England, France, Russia, Spain, and Italy, and his relatives ranked from 
the most despotic of rulers to the mildest of constitutional monarchs. He married, in 1843, 
the Princess Theresa Christina Maria, daughter of King Francis I. of the Sicilies, and their 
family consisted of two sons, who died in childhood, and two daughters, one of whom is 
still living and has her residence in Paris,—the Princess Isabel, wife of the Count d’Eu, and 
mother of three sons, Dom Pedro, Dom Luis, and Dom Antonio. The Princess Leopoldina, 
younger sister of the Princess Isabel, died in 1871, leaving four sons, of whom three are 
living,—Dom Pedro Auguste, Dom Auguste, and Dom Louis Gaston. Dom Pedro II. had 
three sisters, of whom the eldest was Queen Maria II. of Portugal; the others, Donna Januaria, 
who married Prince Louis of Bourbon, Count of Aquila; and Donna Francisca, who married 
the Prince de Joinville, son of Louis Philippe. Dom Pedro died at Paris, on the sth of 
December, 1891, and was buried in Lisbon, the home of his ancestors. 

Many causes have been suggested as having led to the fall of Dom Pedro and of the 
empire, and conservatives in Europe asserted that the Brazilian empire fell on account 


68 THE NEW BRAZIL 


of its liberalism. But Castelar came nearer the true cause when he intimated that an 
empire surrounded by republics and unable to keep its great army continually amused by 
conquest and military glory had in it the element of death—the seed of a better life. “When 
the time came,” says Castelar, ‘‘a worn-out régime was supplanted by the fitting organism 
of contemporary democracy.” This seems to be about the real gist of the case; monarchy 
had run its course, and could no longer exist upon American soil. The rule of Dom Pedro 
was not particularly irksome; in fact, the monarch himself was well beloved, but during 
his reign the psychological moment arrived for the institution of a republic. It was nota 


MISERICORDIA HOSPITAL, RIO DE JANEIRO. 


question regarding the reigning sovereign; the handwriting was upon the wall, the people 
felt inspired to obey its mandates, and so the shadow of the crown passed away from Brazil 
forever. Other causes may have hastened a result that could not, in any event, have long 
been stayed. As Castelar says: “The hour had come.” And with that hour a new republic 
was created, almost without disturbing circumstances. Everything was ready and await- 
ing it, On January 29, 1890, the President of the United States of America formally recog- 
nized the Provisional Government by accepting the credentials of J. G. do Amaral Valente as 


Minister to the United States, and of Senhor Salvador de Mendonca as minister on a Special 
mission to the United States. 


Pe Ole AEeEMeIREVANDSGENESIS OF THE REPUBLIC 69 


Among the first acts of the Provisional Government was the issuing of a decree granting 
the right of suffrage to every male Brazilian citizen who could read and write, unless 
deprived of his civil and political rights, the electoral process being left to the decision of 
the Minister of the Interior. A commission was next appointed, consisting of Dr. Joaquim 
Saldanho Marinho, president, and Dr. Americo Brasiliense de Almeida Mello, Dr. Antonio 
Luiz dos Santos Werneck, Dr. Francisco Rangel Pestana, and Dr. José Antonio Pereira 
de Magalhaes Castro, to prepare the draft of a Federal Constitution. On December 21st, a 
decree was issued naming September 15, 1890, as the time for holding a general election 
for delegates to the Constituent Assembly, and November 15, 1890, the anniversary of 
the revolution, as the date for its first session, which should take place at Rio de Janeiro. 
A confederation of twenty States, consisting of the former provinces, was formed, adding 
the Federal district of the capital. The separation of Church and State was declared, and 
State patronage of religious institutions abolished, though it was guaranteed to furnish 
ecclesiastical revenue and support for the actual personnel of the Catholic Church, and 
to subsidize the seminary professorships for one year. Titles of rank were abolished, 
though those who possessed them were allowed by courtesy to bear them still. An order 
of the Legion of Honor was created and the Military Cross was retained. All other orders 
were abolished. Officials who adhered to the monarchy were allowed to retire and a 
few were discharged. Public institutions, vessels of the navy, etc., which had been 
named in honor of the banished dynasty, were christened afresh, the crown emblems 
were everywhere replaced by stars, and a new national flag was adopted by a decree 
signed on. the 19th of November, 1889. This flag while changed in some respects from 
the emblem of the empire, preserves the old national colors, the government considering 
that, as they remind the people of many hard-fought battles and glorious victories of the 
army and navy in defence of their country, they should be retained to symbolize, inde- 
pendently of the form of government, the perpetuity and integrity of the country among 
the nations. Accordingly, the flag adopted by the republic maintains the tradition of the 
old national colors,—green and yellow,—having a yellow lozenge on a green ground, and 
in the centre a blue sphere crossed by a white zone descending obliquely from left to 
right, bearing the motto: Ordem e Progresso [order and progress]; in the blue sphere are 
twenty-one stars, including the famous “Southern Cross,” placed according to the correct 
astronomical situation, representing the twenty States of the Union and the Federal district. 
The decree authorizing the adoption of the new flag bears the signatures of the provisional 
President and his cabinet: Manoel Deodoro da Fonseca, Aristides da Silveira Lobo, Ruy 
Barbosa, Quintino Bocayuva, Manoel Ferraz de Campos Salles, Benjamin Constant, and 
Eduardo Wandenkolk. 

It was not to be expected that absolute harmony would reign from the beginning in all 
departments of the government under such a radical change in the whole order of things. 
Signs of discontent appeared when the governors and assemblies of the several provinces 
were dismissed and their places filled principally from the military ranks; when commissions 


70 THE NEW BRAZIL 


were appointed to govern in the place of the city councils of Rio de Janeiro and Para; and 
more especially when prolonged delay occurred in calling the constitutional convention, 
which led to a suspicion that the new Constitution was to be promulgated by a decree 
without being submitted to the approval of the people. However, no very serious disturb- 
ance occurred, and when Congress met, its first efforts were directed to adopting or amending 
the provisions of the Constitution submitted for its approval by the commission that had 
: drafted it. When the articles 
were finally adopted, an elec- 
tion was held, Marshal Deodoro 
da Fonseca was made Presi- 
dent, the first of the republic 
of Brazil, and members were 
elected to the Senate and House. 
of Representatives. 

At the first election under 
the new government, the Sen- 
ate had 63 members, 3 from 
each State and 3 from the Fed- 
eral district. The Chamber of. 
Deputies had 205 members, 
of which there were 37 from 
Minas Geraes; 22 from each of 
the two States of Sao Paulo and 
Bahia; 17 from each of the two 
States of Rio and Pernambuco; 
16 from Rio Grande do Sul; 10 
from Ceara; 10 from the Fed- 
eral district; 7 from each of 
the two States of Para and 
Maranhao; 6 from Alagoas; 5 
‘a from Parahyba; 4 from each 

RUA DO OUVIDOR, RIO DE JANEIRO. of the five States of Piauhy, 

Rio Grande do Norte, Sergipe, 

Parana, and Santa Catharina; 3 from Goyaz, and 2 from each of the States of Amazonas, 
Espirito Santo, and Matto Grosso. 

The creation of the new republic required the determined will and unswerving patriotism 
of her people; the preparation of a Constitution for her future government demanded not 
only these qualities, but, in addition, clear-headed judgment and executive genius in the 
leaders chosen to represent her interests. After years of trial, during which the new republic 
has encountered all the discouraging factors that invariably hamper the progress of the 


Peo Pe eLobeeMEiReed NDS GENESIS “Of</AHEREPUBLIO ain 


inexperienced, results prove how perfectly the fathers of republicanism understood the needs 
of the nation, and with what wisdom they accomplished the most difficult of all problems to 
a young republic,—the successful adoption of a national constitution. An apparently insig- 
nificant blunder might have been fatal; any selfish designs on the part of its projectors must 
have defeated its main purpose, and brought a train of disastrous consequences; if ever the 
country needed a tower of strength, a firm and steady “ship of State” that would carry her 
Safely through the storm she had raised and out on the smooth sea of national content, it 
was at this time, and everything depended upon the builders. And they were grand 
unflinching patriots, every one of them, fully appreciating their responsibility and ready to 
meet it like men. 

The Constitution of the United States of Brazil is embraced under five heads, treating, 
respectively, of the Federal organization, the States, municipalities, citizenship, and general 
matters, and of ninety-one articles numbered consecutively. Under the first heading are 
three sections, appropriated, respectively, to legislative, executive, and judicial power; and 
under the fourth heading are two sections, one of which specifies the qualifications of 
citizenship, the other containing a declaration of rights. The Constitution is modelled closely 
after that of the United States of America. Among its leading features are the following: 

The Federal government cannot intervene in the internal affairs of the States, except to 
repel foreign invasion, or invasion from one State into another; to maintain the republican 
federative form of government; to reéstablish order and tranquillity in the States, upon 
requisition of the local authorities; to ensure the execution of the laws of Congress and 
compliance with Federal decisions. 

The Union has exclusive power over taxes on imports, the entry, clearance, and port 
dues of ships; general stamp taxes; taxes on Federal posts and telegraphs; the creation and 
maintenance of custom houses; and the establishment of banks of issue. 

The States have exclusive power to levy taxes upon the exportation of merchandise 
of their own production; upon landed property, upon the transfer of property, upon indus- 
tries and professions, and upon their own posts and telegraphs. A State may tax the 
importation of foreign merchandise only when it is destined for const oN in its own 
territory, the product of the tax reverting to the Federal treasury. 

It is forbidden to the States, as well as to the Union, to levy taxes on the transit through 
the territory of a State, or in the passage from one State to another, of the products of other 
States of the republic or of foreign countries, or upon the vehicles, on land or water, by which 
they are carried; to establish, subsidize, or embarrass the exercise of religious worship; and 
to enact retroactive laws. 

The right of the Union and of the States to legislate upon railways and internal naviga- 
tion is to be promulgated by a law of the national Congress. 

The legislative authority is vested in a Congress composed of a Senate and Chamber 
of Deputies, holding a regular annual session beginning on the 3d of May of each year. 
The duration of each Congress is three years. The presence of a majority of its members is 


72 THE NEW BRAZIL 


necessary to form a quorum of either house, the two houses meeting separately and holding 
public sessions, unless a secret meeting is ordered by a majority vote of the members. 

The general conditions required for eligibility to the national Congress are: to be in 
possession of electoral rights; to be a Brazilian citizen for over four years in the case of a 
Deputy, and for more than six years in the case of a Senator. 

It belongs exclusively to the national Congress to estimate the revenue and fix the 
expenditure annually; to authorize the executive power to contract loans and obtain credits; 
to legislate as to the public debt and establish means for its payment; to regulate the collection 
and distribution of the national revenues; to regulate international trade as well as that 
between the States and the Federal district, and to create ports of entry; to legislate as to 


THE INSANE ASYLUM, RIO DE JANEIRO. 


navigation on rivers that wash more than one State or run through foreign territory; to decide 
the weight, value, inscription, standard, and denomination of coins; to create banks of issue, 
legislate upon them, and tax them; to fix the standard of weights and measures; definitely 
to decide as to the limits of the States between each other or as touching the Federal district, 
or of those adjoining territory of other countries; to authorize the government to declare 
war and make peace; definitely to decide as to treaties and conventions with foreign nations; 
to change the capital of the Union; to concede subsidies as to the States when authorized 
by the Constitution; to legislate upon the service of post offices and telegraphs, the organi- 
zation of the army and navy, the civil, criminal, and commercial laws of the republic, public 
lands and mines, higher education in the Federal district; to adopt regulations to secure the 


Pera Or a HES PMPIRESAND GENESIS OF THE*REPUBLIC 73 


safety of the frontiers; to fix annually the land and naval forces; to concede or refuse 
passage to foreign troops through the country for military operations; to call out and utilize 
the National Guard and civic militia in cases provided for by the Constitution; to declare 
under martial law one or more localities of the national territory, in the emergency of aggres- 
sion by foreign troops or of domestic commotion; to regulate the conditions and process of 
election for Federal offices throughout the country; to establish uniform laws of naturaliza- 
tion; to create and suppress Federal public offices, to determine their powers and duties, 
and to fix their salaries; to organize the Federal judiciary; to concede amnesty; to commute 
and pardon penalties upon Federal functionaries for official crimes; to enact special laws for 
the Federal district; to subject to special legislation the portions of the territory of the 
republic necessary for arsenals or other establishments and institutions of Federal utility; to 
regulate the cases for interstate extradition; to decree the laws and resolutions needful for 
the exercise of the powers with which the Constitution invests the government of the 
Union; to decree the organic laws for the complete execution of the Constitution. 

The veto power of the President and the procedure thereon are in all respects like those 
under the Federal Constitution of the United States; as are also the relations sustained by 
the ministers of State to the President and Congress. 

The President of the republic, as elective chief of the nation, exercises the executive 
power. The Vice-President, elected simultaneously with him, performs the duties of the 
President in case of disability and succeeds him in case of vacancy; and if the Vice-Presi- 
dent is under disability or the vice-presidency is vacant, the presidency is assumed by the 
Vice-President of the Senate, the President of the Chamber of Deputies, or the President of 
the Supreme Federal Tribunal, in the order named. 

To be eligible for election to the presidency, the candidate must be a native-born 
Brazilian, in the exercise of political rights, and over thirty-five years of age. His term 
of office is four years, and he cannot be reelected for the next term. The Vice-President, 
Should he be called upon to act as President in the last year of the presidential term, cannot 
be elected President for the next term. The President and Vice-President are chosen by 
direct vote of the people, a majority being necessary to a choice. The election is held on 
the 1st of March of the last year of the presidential term. The President has-the exclusive 
right to sanction, promulgate, and make public the laws and resolutions of Congress; to 
issue decrees, instructions, and regulations for their execution; to appoint and dismiss the 
ministers of State; to act as commander-in-chief of the land and naval forces of the republic; 
to appoint Federal, civil, and military officers, except as the Constitution provides. other- 
wise; to pardon and commute penalties for crime subject to Federal jurisdiction, except as 
otherwise provided in the Constitution; to declare war and make peace when authorized 
by Congress; to declare war immediately in cases of invasion or of foreign aggression; to 
report annually to the national Congress on the condition of the country, recommending 
measures and reforms in a message, which shall be sent to the secretary of the Senate upon 
the opening day of the legislative session; to call extra sessions of Congress; to appoint 


74 THE NEW BRAZIL 


Federal magistrates; to appoint the members of the Supreme Federal Tribunal and diplomatic 
ministers, with the approval of the Senate, with power during the intermission of Congress 
to make temporary appointments; to appoint all other members of the diplomatic corps and 


A GLIMPSE OF THE OLD CARIOCA SQUARE. 


the consular agents; to maintain rela- 
tions with foreign States; to declare, 
by himself or his responsible agents, 
martial law in any locality of the na- 
tional territory in cases of foreign ag- 
eression or grave internal commotion. 

The President is subject to trial 
and judgment, for common crimes, 
before the Supreme Federal Tribunal, 
after the indictment has been declared 
valid by the Chamber; and for im- 
peachable crimes, before the Senate. 
In the latter are considered all those 
that attack the political existence of the 
Union; the Constitution and form of 
Federal government; the free exercise 
of political powers; the enjoyment 
and legal exercise of political or indi- 
vidual rights; the internal safety of the 
country; the integrity of the adminis- 
tration; the custody and constitutional 
employment of the public moneys; 
the revenue laws voted by Congress. 

The judicial power of the Union 
is vested in a Supreme Federal Tribu- 
nal, seated at the capital of the repub- 
lic, and as many Federal judges and 
tribunals distributed throughout the 
country as Congress may create. The 
Supreme Federal Tribunal is to be 
composed of fifteen judges, appointed 
among the citizens of notable wisdom 
and reputation, eligible to the Senate. 
The Federal judges are appointed for 


life, the position being forfeitable only through judicial sentence. Their salafies are fixed by 
law of Congress, and cannot be reduced. The President appoints the Attorney-General of 
the republic from among the members of the Supreme Federal Tribunal. 


ot 


mori Osh Le LMPIRESAND GENESIS OF THE REPUBLIC 75 


The States hold very much the same relation to the Union as is the case in the United 
States of America. Each State is governed by the constitution and by-laws it adopts, pro- 
vided there is nothing contained therein contrary to the constitutional principles of the 
Union. Generally, the States are free to exercise all powers and rights not denied to them 
in the Constitution of the republic. 

The right of suffrage is given to male citizens upward of twenty-one years of age, who 
have been registered according to law; but military men in active service, members of 
monastic orders, companies, or communities, subject to vows of obedience that involve the 
renunciation of individual liberty, paupers, and illiterate persons, are not permitted to register 
as Federal or State electors. 

The Constitution guarantees the right of public meeting without arms, the right of petition, 
the right to enter and leave the republic in time of peace without a passport, the inviolability 
of private residence and correspondence, the freedom of the press, and the privilege of the 
writ of habeas corpus. All individuals and religious denominations may publicly and freely 
exercise their worship. The republic recognizes only civil marriages. Instruction furnished 
by public institutions must be secular. No denomination or church can enjoy official subsidy 
or hold relations of dependence or alliance with the government of the Union, or that of the 
States. No penalty can extend beyond the person of the delinquent... The punishment of 
the galleys is abolished. The death-penalty is also abolished. The laws of the empire, 
until repealed, continue in force so far as not explicitly or by implication contrary to the 
system of government established by the Constitution, or to the principles embodied 
therein. The Federal government guarantees the payment of the public domestic and 
foreign debt. 

Every Brazilian is bound to military service in defence of the country and the Consti- 
tution, in accordance with the Federal laws. Forced military recruiting is abolished. The 
national army and navy are to be formed by voluntary enlistment or by conscription, 
through a previous enrolment. In no case, directly or indirectly, alone or in alliance with 
another nation, will the United States of Brazil engage in a war of conquest. 

Important differences between the Brazilian Constitution and that of the United States 
of America are: In Brazil, the President cannot be reélected for a second term. Each State 
has three Senators, thus avoiding a tie. Representatives are elected for three years, Senators 
for nine years. 

The new. Constitution, besides changing the form of government, made decided differ- 
ences in the laws of the empire, under which the Roman Catholic had been the established 
Church; there had been a considerable property qualification for voters: Senators had been 
appointed for life by the emperor from triple lists sent up from the provinces, provincial gov- 
ernors had been appointed by the central government, and the powers of provincial assemblies 
were very limited. 

Centralization of government, in the strictest sense of the term, had been the dominant 
feature of the last imperial reign, and had hampered every effort made by the provinces to 


76 THE NEW BRAZIL 


advance their interests and improve their condition. It had been the cause of constant dis- 


content and antagonism against the ruling powers long before this spirit became evident in 
the attitude of the nation at large, and was a potent factor in creating widespread indifference 
toward the fate of the monarchy and universal acquiescence in the plan of the revolution, 
which was especially welcome because it promised a change in this respect, guaranteeing 
the establishment of a government that would recognize the rights of the provinces and 
observe their privileges, which, under the empire, had been so persistently and relentlessly 
trampled upon and ignored, without any means of redress being afforded. The new Con- 
stitution provided a remedy by establishing a system of federative decentralization, each 
province becoming a State as independent as one of the United States of America, and in 
this way receiving every encouragement in the promotion of its best interests and every 
incentive toward improvement and progress in the development of its social and political 
affairs. ? 

Another feature of the imperial rule which had been unpopular, because it discriminated 
in favor of the rich against the poor classes, was the property qualification required to ensure 
eligibility to the rights of suffrage; under the republican Constitution, this disability was 
removed, and free privileges were granted to all citizens not debarred by physical, mental, or 
moral incapacity to fulfil the responsibilities of citizenship. In brief, the republican Con- 
stitution, modelled upon a plan of government “of the people, for the people, and by 
the people,” was so framed as to avoid the evils of class distinction and a usurpation of the 
rights of the weaker by the stronger, and at the same time to provide for “the greatest good 
to the greatest number,” while looking ever toward the realization of the noble motto of 
the nation: Ordem e Progresso. 


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CHAPTER 1V 
THE FIRST DAYS OF THE REPUBLIC 


HE inauguration of the republic of Brazil 
without bloodshed or serious disturb- 
ance must always be regarded as one of 
the most brilliant events in the history of the 
world. For the first time in the annals of 
nations, monarchical rule was overthrown 
and a republic established without the hor- 
rors of civil war.. Madame de Staél vainly 
hoped that France would have the honor of 
such a history, but Gallic liberties, and free 
and popular governments everywhere, save 
in Brazil, have been purchased with the 
price of blood. In terrible contrast with 
the record of this peaceful revolution are the 
bloody pages that tell how, amid a festival 
of carnage and crime, the crown and sceptre 
of the old régime passed away from France. 
Se The revolution in Brazil was really a gradual 
STATUE OF GENERAL OSORIO. evolution from the days when a sort of Magna 
Charta was obtained from Dom Pedro I. He 
was obliged to give the people a large measure of liberty in exchange for his crown, and 
he and his successor ruled by the consent of the governed, not by divine right. In the 
course of her political changes, Brazil has been singularly free from retrogressive steps. 
Every effort on the part of her monarchs to usurp undue authority has been met with 
determined resistance. é 
To those who did not appreciate the real condition of Brazil at the time of the banish- 


ment of the royal family, this act seemed unnecessarily harsh, and one that might have been 
7g 


80 THE NEW BRAZIL 


delayed until the death of Dom Pedro II. But a false, and generally entertained idea 
prevailed regarding the rule of Dom Pedro, based upon his really high moral qualities, 
but exaggerated by those whose admiration was bestowed rather upon the monarch than 
the man. In the eyes of Europe and America, Dom Pedro was esteemed the best possible 
ruler for the needs of Brazil. But those who live under a government are the best judges 
of its merits, and the people of Brazil chafed under the absorption of too much power by 
the crown in defiance of constitutional privileges which had been guaranteed them. The 
centralization of power was stifling the provinces in the political embrace of the court. 
This and other abuses, such as constant deficits in the budget, led a prominent revolu- 
tionist of the day to declare with bitterness that the error of the Brazilians had been in 
warming in their bosom the viper of monarchy, whose victim they had become.- Dom 
Pedro was an excellent monarch, but he represented an element that could not flourish 
upon American soil. There could be but one logical outcome to the long struggle between 
monarchical ‘and democratic principles. The latter accorded with New-World ideas, and 
naturally triumphed. A great law was behind them, the law of the “survival of the fittest.” 

There was a diversity of opinion at the time of,the first election under the republic as 
to the wisdom of choosing a military leader for the presidency, but the popular vote favored 
this course. That President Deodoro allowed military methods to govern his policy is not 
Surprising, and that mistakes were made by him through too great a confidence in the neces- 
sity of military discipline is no serious proof against his good intentions. Under the trying 
conditions that confronted the young republic, the great marvel is that matters progressed 
as favorably as they did. The first signs of discord appeared when Congress, immediately 
after the election, began to inquire into the actions of the Provisional Government. A dis- 
agreement arose between Congress and the executive; there was dissension in the cabinet; 
and the resignations followed of the Ministers of Agriculture, the Interior, Foreign Affairs, 
and Finance. Just at this time, the Minister of War, Benjamin Constant, died. In his 
death, Brazil lost one of her greatest men, and one of the prime movers in the creation of 
the republic. As a scholar and an educator, he was widely known and honored, devoting 
his attention especially to the science of mathematics, upon which he wrote several valuable 
treatises. As the head of the military academy at Rio, he had always exerted a powerful 
influence in political affairs, and his devotion to the republican cause had been shown in 
stirring speeches made to the students, urging them to defend the sacred principles of 
liberty at whatever cost, and to resist all measures aimed against their rights and privileges. 
In all his addresses he had advocated the establishment of a republican form of government, 
and thought the time propitious for striking a decisive blow against the monarchy. Opposing 
the idea, favored by so many of the republicans, of allowing the empire to remain until the 
death of the Emperor Dom Pedro II., he claimed that no man, however admirable his per- 
sonal character, should be permitted to stand in the way of national progress, or to delay, 
even for the shortest time, the establishment of right government in accordance with the 
sovereign will of the people. It was largely through his influence that events took 


Te eS DAYS OF HERERUBL/C 81 


the course they did on the memorable Fifteenth of November, 1889; for, though he had 
secured the promise of Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca the night before, to call out the troops, 
it had not been the marshal’s intention to head a revolution against the empire, but only to 
demand the resignation of the ministry and the reform of certain abuses; it was too late 
to draw back, however, when the cry of “Viva a Republica!” was raised, and there was no 
alternative for the military commander but to accept the situation, and acknowledge the 
honor forced upon him as leader of the revolutionary movement against the monarchy and 
in favor of the republic. All this had been foreseen by Benjamin Constant, who realized the 
necessity of having a strong military power at the head of the revolution and afterward as 
leader of the new government, and for this reason, it is said, declined to become a candidate 
for the first presidency, though the people would perhaps have chosen him, had his name 


VIEW OF THE NATIONAL MINT, OVERLOOKING THE PRAGA DA REPUBLICA, RIO DE JANEIRO. 


been placed in nomination. As Secretary of War under the Provisional Government, his 
Services were of great value, and his unflinching opposition to all measures that he thought 
unjust or savoring of favoritism won him the approval of all classes. He reorganized the 
military schools, and when he left the war office to take charge of the new Department of 
Public Instruction, exercised his unbounded activities in reforms and improvements calcu- 
lated to raise this department of the government to the highest plane of usefulness. At his 
death, Congress voted a pension to his wife and daughters, the erection of a monument 
to his memory in the Praga da Republica, and a national funeral. He has been called the 
Father of the Republic. 

One of the chief causes of the disturbance of political harmony at this time was the 
existing state of financial affairs. In consequence of the exodus of negroes that followed 
emancipation, the question of securing labor on the plantations had become a serious one; 


82 THE NEW BRAZIL 


and in order to improve these conditions, the Provisional Government voted large sums of 
money for immigration purposes. As the treasury had been greatly depleted under the 
empire by the expenses of the Paraguayan war, it was deemed advisable to raise the neces- 
sary funds by an issue of paper in excess of the proportion of gold formerly deposited as a 
basis, and this action resulted in a fall in exchange which alarmed Coneress and led it to 
pass a bill restricting the issue of paper money. A conflict followed between the President 
and Congress, and the President vetoed this and other bills passed by that body; in retalia- 
tion for which a measure was introduced to deprive the President of the vetoing power. 
On October 20, 1890, Senators Saraiva and Wandenkolk resigned their seats. They were 
both very influential men, Senator Saraiva having been one of the popular presidential possi- 
bilities when Deodoro was elected, and Senator Wandenkolk was formerly an admiral of 
the imperial navy, and the first Minister of Marine under the Provisional Government. 
Their resignations were intended as a protest against the existing order of things, and were 
designed to force an election for a new Congress. The crisis came when Congress sought 
to nullify the President’s veto by passing acts over his disapproval. The president of the 
Chamber of Deputies, Senhor Matto Machado, ruled that the vetoed bills could not be 
considered during the same session; the Chamber overruled his decision, and he resigned, 
Senhor Bernardino de Campos being elected in his place. On November 2d, an act was 
passed in the Senate, over the President’s veto, providing for a method of impeaching 
the President; and on the following morning the Senators and Deputies were prevented 
by a military force, with threats of arrest, from entering the chambers. The same day, the 
following decree was published: 


“The President of the Republic of the United States of Brazil, in view of what at this 
date he explains in a manifesto to the country, decrees the National Congress elected Sep- 
tember 15, 1890, hereby dissolved. The nation is convoked to choose new representatives 
at a date that will hereafter be designated. The new Congress will proceed to revise the 
Constitution of the 24th of February of the present year in points that will be made known 
in the decree of convocation. Let the minister of State of the affairs of the interior cause 
it to be executed. 

“MANOEL DEODORO DA FONSECA. 

“Federal Capital, November 3, 1891.” 


This was immediately followed by another decree declaring Rio de Janeiro in a state 
of siege, suspending constitutional guarantees, and appointing a commission to try persons 
proved to be enemies of the republic or disturbers of public order, with power to banish 
those found guilty. These edicts practically declared a dictatorship, as the President had no 
power constitutionally either to adjourn Congress or declare amendments to the Constitu- 
tion, nor, except in cases of revolt, to suspend legal procedure. The manifesto issued by 
the President, in justification of his course, did not meet with approval, and discontent broke 


ace ik eA SORE THERRECPUBLIG 83 


out in open revolution. The State of Rio Grande do Sul, with Silveira Martins at its head, 
openly defied the authority of Deodoro, and declared its intention to secede from the 
republic, and similar threats came from Para 
and Pernambuco. The President ordered 
troops to Rio Grande do Sul to prevent the 
State authorities from carrying their declaration 
of independence into effect. The resistance 
was so powerful—an army of fifty thousand 
men having been raised with General Osorio 
at their head, “prepared to march on Rio and 
depose the dictator,’ as General Osorio’s 
manifesto threatened—that a dispatch was 
sent from the government saying that fair 
terms would be accepted in order to restore 
peace and tranquillity in the State; to which 
the revolutionary Junta, with Dr. Assis Brasil 
at its head, answered that the forces would 
not disarm until Deodoro should resign the 
presidency and Congress be reassembled at 
Rio de Janeiro. On November 21st, the Presi- 
dent issued a proclamation appointing Feb- 
ruary 29, 1892, as the date for the general 

election, and May 3d for the assembling of the a pakaapian ps aye he ae feel aleve a 
next Congress. He recommended that the 

Constitution should be amended to secure the independence of the judiciary and the execu- 
tive by introducing safeguards to uphold the President’s veto, by enlarging the powers of the 
executive, and limiting those of Congress, and by reducing the number of Representatives. 

But Deodoro’s downfall was assured, the navy and three-fourths of the army declaring 
against him; and when Admiral Wandenkolk and other leaders issued a military pronun- 
ciamento against him, which was followed, on November 23d, by a demand for his abdica- 
tion within twenty-four hours, “‘the dictator” realized the hopelessness of his position, and 
tendered his resignation through his Prime Minister and friend, Baron Lucena, issuing a 
manifesto announcing his retirement, and stating that his motive in so doing was to avoid 
bloodshed. As soon as President Deodoro resigned, the insurgents in Rio Grande do Sul 
laid down their arms. 

The first President of the republic was too much of a soldier to be a successful poli- 
tician, but Brazilians will readily forgive him the grave political blunder that endangered for 
a while the peace of their country, and will remember him with gratitude. Manoel Deodoro 
da Fonseca was a native of Rio Grande do Sul, where he was born in 1834. Educated at 
the Polytechnic School of Rio de Janeiro, he received an excellent military training, and 


84 THE NEV BIA 


entered the army after graduating with honors. During the war with Paraguay, he distin- 
guished himself in the battle of Mossoro, being promoted on the field from lieutenant to 
major. At the close of the war, he was decorated by the Emperor Dom Pedro II. with the 
order of the Rose. He was afterward given charge of the government cartridge-factory and 
magazine at Rio de Janeiro, and raised to the rank of general. An enthusiastic republican, 
he organized, at the close of the Paraguayan war, the “Military Club,” which exerted a 
powerful influence in favor of republicanism in the army. He was the military chief of the 
revolution, though that position was not altogether voluntary, his friendship for the emperor 
and appreciation of many favors received from that high source making him reluctant to 
strike the blow that would fall with crushing effect upon his gracious benefactor. Once 
having accepted the responsibility, however, he was strong and determined in carrying out 
the plan arranged, as the events connected with it prove. A few months after his enforced 
resignation as President, Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca died, on the 23d of August, 1892. 
In personal appearance, the first President was short, sinewy, and of dark complexion, with 
a gray moustache and beard. His eyes are described as having been remarkable for their 
brightness and keenness of expression, and his manner was vehement and impressive. 
Immediately after the resignation of President Deodoro da Fonseca, Marshal Floriano 
Peixoto, the Vice-President, was installed as President, with the following cabinet: Minister 
of Foreign Affairs, Fernando Lobo Leite Pereira; Minister of Agriculture, Antao de Faria; 
Minister of Justice, José Hygino Duarte Pereira; Minister of Marine, Admiral Custodio José 
de Mello; Minister of War, General Sim6es de Oliveira; Minister of Finance, Rodrigues Alves. 
In answer to a decree issued November 25, 1891, the Congress which had been dis- 
solved by President Deodoro reassembled on December 18, 1891, all the States being 
represented. The bills vetoed by the former President were passed over the veto. A new 
electoral law was enacted, one of the provisions of which stated that in case the presidency 
or the vice-presidency should become vacant within two years from the beginning of the 
term, a new election should be held within three months after the vacancy occurs. A delay 
in carrying out this provision soon caused discontent among the people, which was fostered 
and increased by an apparent disposition on the part of the President to interfere with the 
rights of the States by forcing them to accept governors not elected by them, but appointed 
under Federal authority. A manifesto was issued by some friends of the former President, 
condemning the methods of President Floriano, and calling upon him to “put an end to the 
disruption of the government by ordering a speedy election of a President, in accordance 
with the requirements of the Constitution and the last electoral law, free from all military 
pressure.” This declaration was treated as a military conspiracy, and the signers were 
banished. The State of Matto Grosso, resenting the attempt of the Federal authorities to 
remove its governor and put another in his place, rose in revolt, and in April, 1892, by the 
action of the State legislature, proclaimed itself an independent nation, under the name of 
the “Republica Transatlantica,” raising its standard of blue and green with a yellow star 
. in the centre. After a brief struggle, the revolt was quelled, and the insurgent leaders made 


Hee SOR eile REPUBLIC 85 


their escape to Bolivia. In Rio Grande do Sul, the secession movement was revived, and 
bitter strife followed between the secessionists, or, as they were called, “Federalists,” and the 
State government. The central government 
intervened, and sent forces to defend the es- 
tablished authorities. This action was strongly 
opposed by the navy, and led to the resigna- 
tion of the Ministers of Finance and Marine, 
although Rear-Admiral Custodio de Mello had 
been the staunch friend and ally of Floriano 
in bringing about the downfall of the pre- 
vious administration. They were succeeded 
by Rear-Admiral Chaves as Minister of Marine, 
and Dr. Freire as Minister of Finance. The 
animosity of the navy was increased when a 
decree was issued declaring a trial by court- 
martial in the case of Admiral Wandenkolk, 
who had been sent by the central govern- 
ment to Rio Grande to report on the existing 
conditions, and had openly espoused the cause 
of the Federalists, joining General Silveira Mar- 
tins in an unsuccessful attempt to take. the 
city of Rio Grande, which had resulted in his 
capture. The navy also resented the growing 
power of the army, which threatened to eclipse its own. The “Historic Republicans,” an 
organization led by Ruy Barbosa and other members of the old Provisional Government, 
strongly opposed the President’s policy of interference with the internal affairs of the States, 
and joined the navy in a protest against court-martial trial for ex-Admiral Wandenkolk. The 
Senate, taking action in the matter, decided, by a small majority vote, that the trial should 
take place in the regular courts. This did not, however, alter the hostile attitude of the 
navy, and a revolution was the outcome. 

Although the navy’s course was declared to be based purely upon motives of patriotism, 
there were many who believed that Admiral Custodio de Mello’s real purpose in fostering a 
revolution was to succeed to the presidency himself. Other rumors accused him of plotting 
for the restoration of the monarchy. Whatever was his design, he had the navy with him 
in his efforts, and on the evening of the 5th of September, 1893, while the officers of the 
fleet anchored in the harbor of Rio were at the opera, the admiral, with several of his 
friends, went on board the Aguidaban and raised his flag, afterward going to the other 
vessels and completing arrangements by which every government ship in the harbor 
was under his orders. The following morning, he sent a message to General Peixoto 
demanding his resignation and the surrender of the government offices within six hours. 


MARSHAL FLORIANO PEIXOTO, SECOND PRESIDENT 
OF BRAZIL. 


86 TOE NEV SBA 


General Peixoto defied the naval squadron, and immediately took measures to frustrate the 
revolution, Congress voting him legal authority and supplies. By authority of Congress, 
Rio and Nictheroy were declared in a state of siege, and the President was empowered to 
extend this declaration to any part of the country. The press was placed under rigorous 
censorship, and telegraphic communication was cut off between Rio and the rest of the 
world. To prevent a landing, about six thousand troops of the army were distributed 
in the fortifications and strategic points of the bay, and a considerable force of infantry 
and artillery was sent to Nictheroy, the capital of the State of Rio, on the opposite bank of 
the bay, in order to keep open communication with the fortress of Santa Cruz, which 
guarded the entrance to the harbor. Admiral Mello’s forces, including officers, marines, and 
Sailors, were not sufficient to attempt a landing on the well-guarded shores of the bay. 
Neither could the ships venture out to sea past the forts and torpedoes at the harbor’s 
entrance. The admiral had threatened to bombard the city if the forts fired on the 
ships; and as this was done, he opened fire on September 13th, first on the forts near 
Nictheroy, and afterward on the arsenal and public buildings facing the water-front in 
Rio. The port was blockaded to all Brazilian vessels, foreign vessels being allowed 
to enter and depart under protection of their country’s warships. On September 22d, a 
second bombardment took place, causing a panic among the citizens. Admiral Custodio de 
Mello issued a proclamation charging President Peixoto, “aided by corrupt Senators and 
venal Deputies,” with overriding the constitutional limits of his power and “introducing a 
régime of arbitrary tyranny”; and promising that, if successful in his stand for liberty, the 
government would be handed over to the same honorable men who had given freedom to 
the nation before. Four members of Congress who were on board the Aguidaban consti- 
tuted themselves a provisional government and issued a proclamation giving the command 
of the forces to Admiral Custodio de Mello for the purpose of restoring peace and reéstab- 
lishing law and order and republican principles. 

The President held his ground with determination. He obtained loans of four million 
dollars to meet the expenses of the government, and arranged to fit out a squadron to 
fight the rebels on the sea. On October 1oth, the bombardment of Rio was resumed 
because the shore batteries had not ceased firing on the fleet, and at the same time the 
admiral issued a new proclamation declaring that in the event of his success he would 
adhere to republican institutions (this in answer to the charge that he aimed at an imperial 
restoration), that none of the leaders of the rebellion aspired to power for their own benefit, 
but for the restoration of peace to the oppressed country, and for the liberation of a people 
who had been sacrificed by the want of patriotism and the reckless ambition of the head 
of the government. 

Meantime, President Floriano had provided himself with a fleet. He purchased some 
merchant vessels in the United States and converted them into warships, and secured 
the torpedo gun-boat Destroyer (which, however, never saw active service), besides nine 
torpedo-boats bought in Europe. The Nictheroy was armed with a pneumatic gun for 


THE FIRST DAYS OF THE REPUBLIC 87 


dynamite bombs, invented by a United States army captain. The America was provided 
with an armament of heavy guns, and four torpedo-boats were fitted out and equipped with 
Hotchkiss guns. The /iradentes was put in working order, and manned by a crew under 
the command of Rear-Admiral Gongalvez. Two Brazilian merchant ships were transformed 
into gun-boats. Rear-Admiral Duarte was given command of a naval division at Bahia. 

In Rio Grande do Sul the Federalists gained ground for a time, and one town after 
another fell into their hands; and at Desterro, in the State of Santa Catharina, they effected 
a landing and placed troops in the field, which, however, were defeated, as well as a 
body of Federalists that came to join them from Rio Grande do Sul. General Saraiva and 
General Salgado were the leaders of the Federalists in the South. 


PRACA DA REPUBLICA, RIO DE JANEIRO. 


In November, Admiral Custodio de Mello succeeded in running out of Rio harbor with 
the Aquidaban and the armed transport Esperanga, under the fire of the forts, and Commo- 
dore Elisar Tavares, left in charge of the remaining naval force, was placed under the com- 
mand of Admiral Saldanha da Gama. The departure of Admiral Custodio de Mello from Rio 
harbor with the best ships of the insurgent navy at the very time when the government’s 
fleet was known to be concentrating there, was supposed by many to signify that his aims 
and purposes were not in harmony with those of Saldanha da Gama, who was known 
to be working for the restoration of the monarchy. Admiral Saldanha’s support came 
chiefly from the churchmen and the imperialists, with whom the Federalists of the South 
had nothing in common except hostility to the government of President Floriano Peixoto. 


88 THE NEVE BRAZIL 


It was assumed that Admiral Custodio de Mello’s first desire was to save the cause in 
the South without regard to the situation at Rio. He hoped to succeed in establishing 
a provisional government in Santa Catharina, with the aid of the Federalist leaders of 
Rio Grande do Sul; international law requiring that a revolutionary government must 
administer some considerable portion of the territory before it can be recognized as a 
belligerent power, whereas the insurgents controlled, so far, only the little island of Santa 
Catharina. 

In the harbor of Rio the firing between the forts and the rebel ships became more 
frequent toward the end of the year 1893, the guns on both sides being: better managed 
than in the earlier engagements. The city suffered a great deal in consequence, and busi- 
ness was practically suspended for a time, people moving away to be out of range of the 
guns. Meantime, the necessity of placing a strong force in the southern country to combat 
the insurgents had resulted in weakening the central government’s defence of the Federal 
capital and the shores of the bay. Saldanha da Gama was reinforced, January 12, 1894, by 
the return of the Aguidaban, which enabled him to maintain his position in the bay, which 
had been seriously threatened, as the government troops had succeeded in compelling him 
to retire from his best strongholds. He now advanced so boldly that he was able to put a 
Stop to all commerce, until checked by the American admiral A. K. Benham, at that time 
commanding the South Atlantic Squadron in the harbor of Rio. The action of Admiral 
Benham in raising the blockade against American merchant ships in the harbor had a 
deterring effect upon the operations of the rebels. Admiral Benham objected to the order 
prohibiting foreign vessels from entering within the line of danger when no firing was in 
progress, claiming that it was an unjustifiable interruption of commerce, and promised the 
captain of an American merchant ship that if he would unload his cargo in lighters flying 
the American flag he would be protected. At first, the rebels forbade the landing; but 
Admiral Benham stood firm in the attitude he had taken, and they abandoned all efforts at 
resistance. On January 23d, Admiral Benham invited the insurgent commander to an 
informal conference on board the New York, and having already ascertained the views of 
President Peixoto, counselled Admiral da Gama to give up the struggle. Admiral da Gama 
demanded the unconditional surrender of Floriano Peixoto and a free vote throughout the 
country as to the form of government and representation in Congress. President Floriano, 
on his side, demanded that neither a military nor a naval man should be eligible for the next 
President, but that he must be a civilian. 

In the South, the revolutionary struggle continued in all its bitterness. In Parana, 
General Saraiva formed a junction with Admiral Custodio de Mello, and, with the codpera- 
tion of the sailors, they captured the port of Paranagua, took possession of the provincial 
capital of Curityba, and advanced to southern Sao Paulo. The outlook was not promising 
just at this time for the government, the President having angered some of his best friends 
by the severity of his military discipline. The acting Minister of War, General Galvdo, 
resigned because of his disapproval of the treatment of political prisoners. The confidence 


aie ey SOL HER EPOBLIC ; 89 


of many faithful supporters was shaken by a suspicion of the clandestine issue of paper 
money by the government. The commander of the fort of Santa Cruz, General Macedo, 
was arrested on a charge of disloyalty because of the repeated successful attempts of the 
Aquidaban in putting in and out of the harbor. In view of these circumstances, added to 
the fact that most of the regular army had been sent to defend Sao Paulo against the attack 
of Saraiva and Custodio de Mello, Saldanha da Gama determined to make a bold strike for 
possession of the land defences. A battle took place on the gth of February, resulting in 550 
killed and wounded of Peixoto’s men and 272 of Saldanha da Gama’s, the admiral himself 


MILITARY SCHOOL, RIO DE JANEIRO. 


being wounded in the neck and arm. Not long after this, the insurgents lost the warships 
Venus and Jupiter and the transport Mercurio, which were sunk by shells from the government 
forts. After Admiral Saldanha’s reverse, the commanders in the South determined to strike at 
Santos. A portion of the National Guard joined the rebel standard under General Saraiva, 
whose idea it was to invade the State of Sao Paulo, with the ultimate object of entering Rio 
de Janeiro, while General Salgado kept in check the government garrison at Porto Alegre, 
in Rio Grande do Sul, preventing it from moving northward. Sado Paulo was still strongly 
held by government troops and forces, which the State had put at the disposal of the 
central government, and Santos was strengthened against the expected rebel attack. 


go THE NEWS Bicd Zk 


This was the situation of affairs when the election, on March 1, 1894, was held for a 
President to succeed President Peixoto on the following November 15th. The rebels claimed 
that the election should have taken place in October, 1893; but the naval revolt and the 
declaration of martial law made an election at that time impracticable. Senators from most 
of the States had met in December, 1893, and nominated Dr. Prudente Moraes President. 
The state of siege was suspended, nominally in order that the election might take place 
under constitutional forms. The voting resulted in the election of Prudente Moraes for 
President and Manoel Victorino Pereira for Vice-President. In Rio Grande, Parana, and 
Santa Catharina, where the insurgents were in the ascendency, no election was held. After 
the election, the state of siege was prolonged until May. By a decree of February 234d, all 
crimes connected with the rebellion were made punishable by martial law, even if committed 
by civilians. Another decree, issued March 2d, authorized the Minister of War to raise regular 
troops by forcible conscription. Equipped with strong reinforcements, President Peixoto on 
March 11th gave forty-eight hours’ notice of a general engagement, and the people of Rio and 
the ships in the harbor were warned to get out of range. The next day, Admiral Saldanha 
offered, through the Portuguese Minister, to surrender on condition that immunity should 
be granted to all connected with the rebellion, that officers who were imprisoned should be 
pardoned, and all superior officers should be allowed to resign their commissions on prom- 
ising never again to take up arms against the government of Brazil. He then took refuge 
on a Portuguese man-of-war, and sent another message, demanding that the lives of private 
- insurgents should be spared. President Peixoto replied that no terms would be considered 
but unconditional surrender. ‘The rebels escaped on the Portuguese men-of-war, and 
when President Peixoto demanded their surrender, the commander refused to give them up 
without orders from his government. Most of the refugees finally made their escape. 

Meantime, Admiral Custodio de Mello, who had been directing all his energies to the 
cause of the Federalists in the South, had returned again to Santa Catharina, where he was 
joined by Salgado, and, reorganizing and assuming the presidency of the Provisional Goy- 
ernment there, had proceeded to appoint, in the place of the cabinet, a commission of three 
men representing the three revolted States. This had led to a quarrel in the rebel ranks, and 
the “Junta” at Desterro, under the leadership of Custodio de Mello, Saraiva, and Salgado, 
had been repudiated by the Federalists of Rio Grande do Sul. Early in April, Admiral 
Custodio de Mello and General Salgado attacked the city of Rio Grande do Sul by sea and 
land, but there was lack of harmony in their operations, and they were defeated. Mean- 
time, a fleet sent by the central government bombarded the forts at Desterro, and, after a 
brief naval engagement with the insurgents, succeeded in destroying the Aguidaban, which 
had been the mainstay of the revolt and the principal target of the government’s guns 
throughout the rebellion. After the loss of the Aquidaban, the forts and vessels at Desterro 
were abandoned by the insurgents, the rebel junta fled to the South, and General Saraiva’s 
forces retreated to the frontier. Admiral Custodio de Mello, after leaving General Salgado 
with 400 men on the Uruguayan territory, departed for Argentina, where he surrendered 


THE FIRST DAYS OF THE REPUBLIC 91 


with his command of 1200 men, his five vessels, and his arms, on condition that they 
should not be delivered up to the Brazilian government. President Peixoto proclaimed 
pardon for all privates 
concerned in the rebel- 
lion, and on April 20, 
1894, sent a communi- 
cation to the members 
of the diplomatic body 
informing them that the 
revolt was at an end. 
The guerrilla war 
in Rio Grande do Sul 
had been in progress 
for more than a year 
before the naval revolt 
began, the central gov- 
-ernment becoming in- 
volved in the contest by PICTURESQUE PATHWAY IN THE PASSEIO PUBLICO, RIO DE JANEIRO. 
extending its protection 
by force of arms to the ruling governor, General Julio Castilho. The struggle still continued 
after the surrender of Admiral Saldanha and the departure of Admiral Mello, General Saraiva 
assuming the leadership of the guerrillas after his retreat from Parana. In June, his forces 
were defeated by General Lima, and by the end of July the insurgents were exhausted, 
and General Saraiva was reported to be dead. This was not the end of the war, however, 
for, in the beginning of 1895, Admiral Saldanha da Gama put himself at the head of the 
rebels. In June, he met the government troops near Santa Anna, was defeated, and, 
after three hundred men were killed or wounded on both sides and most of his followers 
had abandoned the field, he ordered those who stood by him to retreat, and met his 
own death on the battlefield. On July 2d, General Galvao, commanding the government 
troops, arranged an armistice with General Tavares, the Federalist commander, and terms 
of peace were finally agreed upon, to which General Castilho, who had up to this time 
stood out for unconditional surrender, gave his assent. The terms were a free pardon 
to all who laid down their arms, with a guarantee of all civil rights to every person 
implicated in the revolution, including the right to appeal to the courts for the redress of 
injuries committed by the troops. General Castilho was to remain as provisional governor 
until the meeting of the State Congress, which was to alter the Constitution so as to make 
it conformable to the Constitutions of the other States. The amnesty bill was passed in 
September, after a sharp debate in both houses, with modifications debarring rebel officers 
from the army and navy for two years, and extending the amnesty to other political 
offenders and exiles. 


92 THE NEW BRAZIL 


After the war was over, President Peixoto established the strictest military discipline, 
frequent changes were made in the cabinet, and all branches of the army were strengthened, 
the military force being increased from .14,000 to 24,000 men. Although bitter attacks had 
been made against the President in Congress, a resolution was finally passed approving his 
acts. It was recognized that he had successfully brought the country out of a period of 
agitation and revolt that threatened its very existence, and that he deserved the thanks of 
the people. At the same time, it was the general sentiment that in future the nation’s 
President should not be a military commander, but a civilian. A few months after giving 
the reins of government into other hands, Marshal Floriano Peixoto succumbed to an 
illness which proved fatal, his death occurring on the 29th of June, 1895. 

In many respects, the “Iron Marshal,” as he was popularly called, was a remarkable 
man. His firmness was unquestioned, his indomitable energy knew no bounds, and 
although he was regarded as a disciplinarian of over-strict methods, even this characteristic 
had its advantages when mild measures were perhaps not adequate to the exigencies of 
the times. The history of this unflinching leader shows him to have been thoroughly 
educated in military matters. He was a graduate of the Military Academy, an artillery 
officer, and distinguished himself in the Paraguayan war, receiving promotion to the rank of 
lieutenant-colonel for gallantry on the field, and upon his return at the close of the war, was 
advanced to the grade of colonel. In 1883, he was promoted to the general staff of the army. 
Under the empire, he had held the political office of president of Rio Grande do Sul, and in 
the cabinet of the Provisional Government had been Secretary of War, succeeding Benjamin 
Constant, who was transferred to the Department of Public Instruction. He resigned his 
position with other members of the cabinet who disagreed with President Deodoro. 


‘OMISNWE FTG OF ‘AUNSVEUNL TVNOILYN AHL 


PCHARTER: V 


iemeolV ies PRESIDENTSSAND “EARLY (STATESMEN 


DR. PRUDENTE JOSE DE MORAES BARROS, FIRST CIVIL 
PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL, 1894-1808. 


Benjamin Vasques, War; and Admiral Elisario 
Moraes’s administration was one of rigid econ 


LL honor is due to the brave patriots 
who guided the fortunes of the new 
republic safely through the first threatening 
storms. Their genius shone brilliantly in 
the midst of the unsettled conditions which 
marked the beginning of the new régime, and 
illumined the pathway for their successors, 
who were called upon to meet the require- 
ments of a regularly constituted civil gov- 
ernment, such as the nation soon demanded. 
The institution of thoroughly republican 
ideals in Brazil may be said to have been 
realized by the election of Dr. Prudente José 
de Moraes Barros, the first president chosen 
from civilian ranks, and who was acceptable 
to all classes of people. Elected practi- 
cally without opposition, he was inaugurated 
President, November 15, 1894. His minis- 
ters were men of the highest probity and of 
recognized patriotism: Dr. Carlos Carvalho 
held the portfolio of Foreign Affairs; Dr. 
Rodrigues Alves that of Finance; Dr. Olyntho 
de Magalhdes, Industry and Public Works; 
Dr. Gongalves Ferreira, Interior; General 
Barbosa, Marine. The policy of President 
omy, looking especially to the diminution of 


the public debt, the restoration of a sound currency, reform in taxation, and a reduction of the 


95 


96 THE NEW BRAZIL 


expenses of the army and navy, the last being deemed especially called for, since military 
rule no longer existed. The cutting down of expenditures for military purposes was opposed 
by the army, and early the following year a movement, having its origin chiefly in the military 
school, was inaugurated for the restoration of Floriano Peixoto. President Moraes closed 
the school and expelled the students for attempting to arouse popular feeling against the 
existing government. The sudden death of Marshal Floriano, on June 29, 1895, put an end 
to such disturbances. 

During the first year of President Moraes’s administration, a dispute of long standing 
between Brazil and Argentina regarding the boundary line of the Missiones territory was 
settled, February 6, 1895, by arbitration of the President of the United States, Grover 
Cleveland, who decided in favor of Brazil, and established the boundary line on the rivers 
Pepiri-Guazu and San Antonio. In this controversy, Brazil was represented by the present 
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Baron de Rio-Branco, and Argentina by the present Minister of 
Foreign Affairs of that republic, Dr. Estanislao Zeballos. 

The transition from military to civil rule was marked by a careful and consistent effort 
to overcome the evils existing in consequence of the former, and to establish the latter on a 
firm foundation. No man in Brazil was better fitted to accomplish these purposes than 
President Prudente Moraes, who thoroughly realized the importance of the situation. There 
was at this time a widespread feeling of anxiety and uncertainty regarding the political 
future of the country, which was suffering from great commercial depression, consequent 
upon the fall in value of coffee, as well as from a continuous depreciation of the currency, 
and from financial embarrassment caused by the necessities of the previous presidency. 
In view of these difficulties, President Moraes, and the Vice-President, Dr. Manoel Victorino 
Pereira, who filled the chief executive office for several months during a serious illness of 
the President, devoted especial attention to financial matters, with the result that confidence 
in the new government was established and progress was assured. 

During the year 1897, the Federal government was called upon to assist the authorities 
of the State of Bahia in putting down an insurrection that had broken out in one of the 
interior districts at a place called Canudos, the stronghold of a large band of religious fanatics, 
led by one Antonio Maciel, whom they called “Conselheiro,” and worshipped as the Messiah. 
There is a mystery about the origin and purpose of this war. Some believe that it was an 
uprising for the restoration of the monarchy, with powerful support behind it, particularly as 
the rebels fought under the imperial flag and declared their mission to be a holy war against 
the existing government of Brazil, which they denounced as “atheistic, and undeserving of 
obedience, and doomed to be overthrown;”’ they also received, it is said, large quantities of 
arms and ammunition from unknown soutces, and assistance in every way that could further 
their plans. On the other hand, many people are of the opinion that it was nothing more 
than an outburst of fanatic enthusiasm, simply a “holy war,” as its leaders called it. 

The immediate causes of the rebellion are variously stated. One authority says that 
the Conselheiro accused a merchant of embezzling some money left with him to pay for 


Pope ILE PRESIDENTS AND EARLY STATESMEN 97 


material for a church building in Canudos, and that when a demand was made for either 
the money or the material, the merchant complained to the State, declaring that the fanatics 
were threatening him. Police officers were sent to protect the merchant, and in an attack 
on the Conselheiro they were defeated and some 
of them killed. Reinforcements sent to their aid 
were driven back with great loss, and the State 
was obliged to call for the assistance of the 
Federal troops. Meantime, the Conselheiro’s 
supporters increased so rapidly that when the 
Federal army reached his stronghold it found 
an opposing force of about eight thousand well- 
trained mén prepared to meet it in battle. On 
March 3, 1897, an engagement took place, result- 
ing in a victory for the rebels, their superior 
numbers overcoming the small battalion of Fed- 
eral troops commanded by General Moreira Cesar 
and Major Francisco M. Beitto, who lost six hun- 
dred men and all their guns and ammunition. 
Sympathizers in other States followed the ex- 
ample of the Conselheiro, and insurrections ap- 
peared in Pernambuco, Minas Geraes, Sergipe, 
and Piauhy. The government found it necessary 
to increase the strength of its army, and after 
a bitter engagement, in which General Moreira 
Cesar was killed, a fresh force of seven thousand men was sent from Rio to Pernambuco, a 
large force of artillery being dispatched to Bahia at the same time, in charge of General 
Cantuzia. General Arthur Oscar took command of the troops on their arrival at Bahia, and 
attempted to march against the rebels’ stronghold, two hundred and fifty miles distant from 
the capital. It was two months before the army reached Canudos, progress having been 
delayed all along the line by hostile bands. In June, the Federal troops won a victory in 
which eight thousand of the rebels were defeated and about three hundred killed. Finally, 
after repeated engagements, resulting in alternate victory and defeat, the Conselheiro’s 
position was captured in October, Admiral Barbosa directing the final operation, during 
which the Conselheiro was slain, with thousands of his followers. 

While the victorious troops, returning from the Canudos war were being reviewed by the 
President, an attempt was made to carry out a plot for his assassination, the dastardly deed 
being frustrated only by the brave action of General Bittencourt, who threw himself in 
front of the President and received in his own breast the fatal wound. It was a noble 
sacrifice, and the nation holds in perpetual reverence the memory of this glorious hero. 
The assassin killed himself, and his accomplices were imprisoned. 


DR. MANOEL FERRAZ DE CAMPOS-SALLES, 
PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL, 1898-1902. 


98 THE “NEW BRAZIL 


At the presidential election held March 1, 1898, Dr. Manoel Ferraz de Campos-Salles 
was chosen President; with Dr. Francisco Rosa e Silva as Vice-President. Dr. Olyntho de 
Magalhaes was appointed Foreign Minister; Dr. Joaquim Murtinho, Minister of Finance; 
Dr. Alfredo Maia, of Industry and Public Works; Dr. Epitacio da Silva Pessoa, Justice and 
Interior; General Mallet, War; and Admiral Pinto da Luz, Marine. The government of 
Dr. Prudente Moraes had been marked by a strict adherence to the Constitution and an 
honest and faithful discharge of his duties as chief executive. He retired from office with the 
plaudits of the nation ringing in his ears. In straightforwardness and unaffected simplicity 
he has been compared to Abraham Lincoln, and in staunch loyalty and patriotism his char- 
acter offers an example eminently worthy of the emulation of the Brazilian youth. A native 
of the State of Sao Paulo, Prudente José de Moraes Barros was born at Itu, one of the 
oldest towns of the State, on the 4th of October, 1841. He was educated at the city of Sao 
Paulo, and graduated with high honors in the law department of the University. From the 
earliest days of his career, he was a fearless advocate of republican principles, and as deputy 
to the Provincial Assembly of Sao Paulo spoke with frankness and fearlessness against the 
vexatious measures of the imperial government. When the republicans of Rio published 
their manifesto in 1870, he was among the first to give his support to the movement and he 
rendered important Services in spreading the new political creed in his native State. After 
the proclamation of the republic, he was elected a member of the provisional government 
of Sao Paulo, and he was the first governor of the State under the new régime. In October, 
1890, he was elected to the Senate, and when the first Congress met he was called to preside 
over its deliberations, and had an important share in framing the new Constitution. The 
death, on December 3, 1902, of this great and dearly beloved statesman was an occasion of 
general mourning in every part of the republic, all classes feeling the loss of one who, 
throughout a noble career, had represented the highest ideals of democracy in all their purity 
and simplicity. 

The inauguration of President Campos-Salles, the second civil President, was celebrated 
on the 15th of November, 1898. The main features of his administration were the im- 
provement of the finances of the country and the extension of commercial relations. A 
statesman of sound principles and practical judgment he met the problems of his adminis- 
tration with remarkable ability, and under his government the country made notable progress. 

It must be understood that the financial difficulties from which Brazil suffered at this 
time did not date from the inauguration of the republic. Asa matter of fact the revenue 
and expenditure of the empire had not balanced in one single instance for thirty years 
previous to its fall, and the yearly deficit had been met by continual borrowing. The Para- 
guayan war was to blame for the permanent derangement of the country’s finances, which 
remained in a more or less hopeless condition during the first years of the republic. Under 
the new form of government, Brazil served a severe ten years’ apprenticeship. In the 
beginning, revolution followed revolution and enormous sums of money were spent with 
inadequate results. Blunders were committed in finances, in politics, and in the essentials 


THE CIVIL PRESIDENTS AND EARLY STATESMEN 9 


of good government, with no apparent error of form. The staunchest republicans of the 
“old guard” invited criticism by the adoption of methods not consistent with the principles 
of republicanism; but with all this Brazil never quite reached the measure of folly and mis- 
government that characterized the early days of American independence, when the United 
States were said to be “drifting toward anarchy” and the currency had lost its purchasing 
power. Brazil, under less favorable circumstances, did better than that; and, once past the 
era of revolution, discord and conspiracy, which culminated in the attempted assassination 
of President Prudente Moraes and the martyrdom of brave General Bittencourt, the inherent 
good sense and patriotism of the nation, shocked by that terrible event, became aroused in 
a strong reaction against revolutions and the demagogues who incite them. As a result, 
Brazil entered upon a new phase of political life, as quiet and peaceful as it had before been 
agitated and bellicose. The whole nation became interested in the country’s progress and 
in the solution of all problems affecting its development. The policy of President Campos- 
Salles was in accord with the sentiment 
of the people, and by his tact, no less 
than by his rare talent, he was able to 
carry out an important programme of 
reform and progress. 

The inauguration of the twentieth 
century was celebrated with especial 
Significance in Brazil, as it marked the 
fourth centennial of the discovery. In 
the month of May, every city of the 
republic observed the anniversary with 
brilliant festivities. In Rio, the occasion 
was characterized by a magnificent dis- 
play. The Portuguese government, in - 
honor of the event, sent a special am- 
bassador, General Cunha, who arrived 
on the 3d of May in the cruiser Don 
Carlos, and was received with distin- 
guished honors. The ceremonies lasted 
several days, one of the most important 
events being the unveiling and dedi- 
cation of the monument to Cabral in 


ae DR. FRANCISCO DE PAULO RODRIGUES ALVES, 
the Praga Alvares Cabral. The Brazilian PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL, 1902-1906. 


sculptor Bernardelli is the author of the 

monument, which is a fine work of art, representing the famous Portuguese navigator with 
his companions, Caminha, the chronicler of the discovery, and Henrique the monk, the 
three founders of the wonderful country which they named ‘“‘ The Land of the Holy Cross.” 


100 THE NEW BRAZIL 


The official reception on the second day in honor of the occasion was a memorable function, 
attended by Ambassador Cunha, the guest of honor, by the President of Brazil and members 
of his cabinet, the army and navy officials, the foreign diplomatic corps, and the represent- 
ative society of the capital. Eulogistic addresses were made by Dr. Olyntho de Magalhaes, 
Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and by the Portuguese ambassador; two distin- 
guished Brazilian poets, Senhor Luiz Guimaraes, Jr., and Olavo Bilac, contributed poems in 
honor of the event, and a grand ball gave the evening a brilliant termination. Before the 
close of the festivities, a numismatic exhibition took place, at which nearly ten thousand coins 
and medals were displayed, Brazil contributing a quarter of the number, among them nearly 
all the coins of the country used from the time of the discovery up to the present day. An 
exhibition of Arts and Industries, opened on the last day, was another feature that proved 
most interesting, and was highly creditable to the advancement and progress of Brazil. 
Illuminations, parades, military and naval reviews, banquets, excursions, in fact, a continuous 
succession of entertainments, made the week a memorable one in the history of the capital. 
Never had the sentiment of friendship toward the mother country been more beautifully 
shown by Brazil than it was on the four hundredth anniversary of its history, when the 
two countries celebrated, in this great event, the inalienable union of kinship, strengthened 
by bonds of mutual sympathies and respect. 

During the administration of President Campos-Salles was settled a boundary question 
that for three centuries had existed between Brazil and France. The southern limits of 
French Guiana formed the subject of dispute, but the long-standing differences having failed 
to be adjusted after numerous conferences, it was agreed, in 1897, to submit the question 
to a court of arbitration, the members of which were to be named by the Swiss govern- 
ment. The French government having modified its earlier demands, which included territory 
bounded on the south by the Amazon River, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the 
west by the Rio Branco, the contestants defined the disputed territory as comprising an 
area of about one hundred and fifty thousand square miles, of which, under the award, 
Brazil secured one hundred and forty-seven thousand square miles, and France three 
thousand square miles. It was decreed that the boundaries were to be the Oyapok River 
throughout its course, and the water-shed line of the Tumuc-Humac Mountains from 
the source of the Oyapok to the Dutch frontier. The successful settlement of this dispute 
was chiefly due to the efforts of the Baron de Rio-Branco, who represented Brazil in the 
famous controversy. 

As a result of the presidential election of 1902, Dr. Campos-Salles was succeeded by 
Dr. Rodrigues Alves. The notable progress which the country had enjoyed under the good 
government of Dr. Campos-Salles was apparent in all branches of the administration, and 
when he retired from the presidency he left a splendid record of executive genius and 
statesmanship. His name is held in great esteem in Brazil, and he is everywhere honored 
as an experienced statesman, an orator of exceptional power and eloquence, and a citizen of 
blameless character. Like his predecessor, he first saw the light in that cradle of patriots, 


THE CIVIL PRESIDENTS AND EARLY STATESMEN 101 


Sado Paulo, having been born in Campinas in 1841. He began very early to shape his 
career, and while still a youth he was elected to the Provincial Assembly of Sado Paulo. 
When the question of the abolition of slaves came up for discussion, he urged the reform 
with eloquence, and though a land-owner 
himself, and depending upon slave-labor, he 
fought for the reform till it became law, free- 
ing his own slaves as an example and a proof 
of his sincerity. He was prominent in every 
administration of the republic from its inau- 
guration to his election as chief executive, 
and was president of Sao Paulo at the time 
of his nomination to the national presidency. 
His administration was based on high princi- 
ples and directed with courage and devotion. 
The government of President Rodrigues 
Alves may be said to mark the most eventful 
period in the transition from the old to the 
new Brazil. From the day of the President’s 
election to that of his retirement four years 
later, all the energy of his remarkable states- 
manship was directed toward the carrying 
out of the ambitious programme which he 
announced in his inaugural address, and 
which included the improvement of the 
sanitary condition of the Federal capital, the 
establishment of greater facilities for its commerce, and the advancement of Brazil’s foreign 
relations. The complete success with which an undertaking of such immense magnitude 
was accomplished is the wonder and admiration of the world, and will forever stand a noble 
monument to his talent and patriotism, commemorating the greatest victory yet won by 
Brazil under the banner of “Order and Progress.” In his stupendous enterprises, the 
President had the able codperation of the ministers of his cabinet: Baron de Rio-Branco, 
Minister of Foreign Affairs; Dr. José Leopoldo de Bulhoes, Finance Minister; Dr. Lauro 
Muller, Minister of Industry, Transportation, and Public Works; Dr. J. J. Seabra, of Interior 
and Justice, who resigned during the last year of the administration and was replaced by 
Dr. Gaspar de Barros Almeida; Marshal Argollo, War; and Admiral Julio Cesar de Noronha, 
Marine. With the exception of Dr. Seabra, all his ministers remained with the President 
throughout his term of office. Having chosen for his cabinet the men in whose ability and 
energy he had reason to place the greatest confidence, the President allowed all his ministers 
perfect liberty in their own department, receiving from each a loyal obedience to the plan 
of the government, while he gave in return an unequivocal demonstration of support and 


DR. NILO PECANHA, VICE-PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL 


102 THE NEW BRAZIL 


confidence. The result was an administration remarkable for the harmony that existed in all 
departments, and for the effective character of the work accomplished through sympathetic 
and united effort. 

In order to improve the sanitary condition of the Federal capital, it was found neces- 
sary to transform a large portion of the city. Old streets, narrow and badly drained, with 
houses so built as not to admit of healthful ventilation, had to be destroyed, and the manner 
in which this great work was accomplished reflects credit on all who were identified with 
the plan and its execution. The most remarkable feature of the transformation was the 
construction of the Avenida Central, under the direction of the eminent Minister of Public 
Works, Dr. Lauro Muller. It was a courageous undertaking, as it meant the cutting of a 
broad, spacious boulevard through a labyrinth of narrow and tortuous streets, and required 
the destruction of a vast amount of property in the heart of the business section of the 
capital. In September, 1903, Dr. Lauro Muller named a special commission to prepare a 
project for the improvement of the port of Rio de Janeiro, and this commission was unani- 
mous in recommending, as one of the most necessary means toward accomplishing this 
end, the construction of a central thoroughfare through the lower part of the city from 
north to south, to cut across the section which forms a peninsula between the Prainha 
and the Praia da Lapa. The supervision of this vast enterprise was placed in the 
hands of a distinguished Brazilian engineer, Dr. Paulo de Frontin, to whose energy and 
ability much of the success is due. On the 8th of March, 1904, the workmen began to 
demolish the old edifices which blocked the greater part of the space destined for the 
Avenida. Eighteen months later, on the 15th of November, 1905, the Avenida Central was 
inaugurated, one of the finest thoroughfares in the world. No nation can show a more 
conspicuous example of modern energy and enterprise than is seen in the new Federal 
capital of Brazil. The Avenida, which is paved with asphalt, is six thousand feet long and. 
more than two hundred feet wide, and has a line of shade trees down the middle, alter- 
nating with ornamental posts for electric lights. Along the curb are shade trees and gaslight 
posts at regular intervals, so that the great avenue has a triple line of trees and is abundantly 
lighted. The cost of this work was more than twelve million five hundred thousand dollars 
in gold. The municipality of the Federal district united with the Federal government in the 
sanitation and beautifying of the capital, and under the direction of the prefect, Dr. Francisco 
Pereira Passos, many of the narrow streets were widened, notably the Rua Visconde de 
Inhauma and Rua Uruguayana, which were transformed into broad and handsome avenues. 
The Avenida Beira-Mar was laid out as a magnificent boulevard, connecting with the Avenida 
Central at the Praia da Lapa, and forming a splendid driveway along the shore of the bay to 
Botafogo and beyond, for a distance of six miles. More than a thousand houses were torn 
down to make room for the street improvements, and a new system of scientific and prac- 
. tical.sanitation was established. 

The improvement of the port for purposes of commerce was undertaken on the same 
gigantic lines as the work of rebuilding the city. In 1903, the Federal government gave to 


Popeater RESIDENTSTAND EARLY STATESMEN ~ 103 


an English firm, Messrs. C. H. Walker & Co., the order for the construction of the port 
works, to include a stone quay ten thousand six hundred feet in length, extending along the 
bay westward from the Prainha to the Canal de Mangue, with warehouses, installation of all 
apparatus necessary to handle cargo, railways to receive and dispatch merchandise, and a 
channel alongside, nine hundred and ten feet wide and thirty feet deep at low tide. To 
cover the cost of this great work a special tax of two per cent in gold was imposed on all 
imports, so that the ordinary budget would not be overburdened. According to the terms 
of the contract, this great enterprise must be concluded by the 30th of June, 1910. The cost 
was covered by a loan of eight million five hundred thousand pounds sterling, negotiated in 
London in 1902. When this new work is finished, Rio will be one of the best equipped 
ports of the world, for the prompt loading and unloading of foreign merchandise. 

The government of President Rodrigues Alves was not only occupied with one of the 
greatest practical reforms in the nation’s history, the improvement of material conditions, 
but gave attention to many questions of political and financial importance upon which 
depended the future course of national progress. Under his administration the relations 
between the Federal union and the State governments were more clearly defined, the pres- 
ervation of the union being shown to depend upon the loyalty of the various States that 
compose it. The welfare of the whole nation was held to be of the first importance, while 
the interests of each State are sought 
in the interests of the entire republic. 
The question of States’ rights was 
particularly important, the acquisition 
of new territory having caused a dis- 
cussion as to whether such lands 
should be included within the juris- 
diction of the states on which they 
bordered, or should belong to the Fed- 
eral government, to be incorporated 
into new States, or departamentos, as 
was afterward done in the case of the 
Acre territory. 

By the treaty of Petropolis, which 
was signed between Brazil and Bolivia 
on the 17th of November, 1903, the 
dispute regarding the Acre territory, 
which lies in the richest rubber pro- 
ducing region of the world, was settled, 
and the line separating the two countries was satisfactorily established. The treaty pro- 
vided for an exchange of territory, and a further agreement on the part of Brazil to pay 
two million pounds sterling, and to construct the Madeira-Mamoreé railway, in consideration 


DR. JOAQUIM NABUCO, AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES. 


104 THE NEW BRAZIL 


of the unequal extent of the territories exchanged.. This treaty is an evidence of the highest 
diplomacy and reflects credit upon the representatives of both governments. It was largely 
due to the statesmanship of the Brazilian representative, the Baron de Rio-Branco, Minister 
for Foreign Affairs, that the Acre affair was 
brought to a close amicably, as it had threatened 
at one time not only to disturb the relations 
between Brazil and Bolivia, but to involve all 
South America. The remoteness of the territory 
and the difficulty of governing it had been a 
source of trouble to both Brazil and Bolivia for 
years. When Bolivia decided to lease her part 
of it to the Bolivian Syndicate in 1901, hoping 
thus to secure its progress and development 
and to make it a source of greater revenue, 
Brazil objected on the ground that it meant the 
introduction of a foreign power, similar to the 
Chartered Companies which had held almost 
sovereign dominion in Asia and Africa, with dis- 
astrous results to the political supremacy of 
the countries they invaded. In view of the atti- 
tude taken by the South American countries, the 
Bolivian Syndicate withdrew, and on the 21st 
of March, 1903, Bolivia and Brazil entered into 
negotiations for the settlement of their respective claims in the Acre territory. The treaty 
of Petropolis was the result of these negotiations. An important feature of the exchange of 
territory, and indeed one of its chief motives, was the incorporation into Brazilian territory 
of that part of the Acre, formerly under Bolivian government, in which the Portuguese 
language is spoken, and the incorporation into Bolivian territory of the land, formerly 
Brazilian, in which the Spanish language is spoken. Brazil has since divided her newly 
acquired territory into three deparfamentos, Alto Acre, Alto Purus, and Alto Jurua, each 
governed by a Prefect. 

The urgent necessity for fixing the limits of the republic has led the Brazilian govern- 
ment to devote especial attention to this matter, and during President Rodrigues Alves’s 
administration, the boundaries were settled with four neighboring countries, Bolivia, Ecuador, 
and the British and the Dutch Guianas. The King of Italy arbitrated the question of the 
British Guiana boundary, the Brazilian claim being ably supported by Dr. Joaquim Nabuco, 
Ambassador to the United States. The Foreign Minister, Baron de Rio-Branco, on the 6th of 
May, 1904, signed a treaty establishing the boundary line between Brazil and Ecuador, and 
on the sth of May, another, with the Minister of the Netherlands, fixing the limits between 
Brazil and Dutch Guiana. 


DR. RUY BARBOSA. 


THE CIVIL PRESIDENTS AND. EARLY STATESMEN 105 


An important part of the programme of President Alves, as he stated in the inaugural 
address, was to extend and strengthen the foreign relations of Brazil, and the success with 
which this plan was carried out is one of the memorable features of his administration. In 
addition tothe settlement of the boundary question referred to, international relations of 
extraordinary significance were promoted through the activity of the Foreign Office. Brazil 
was made to take a higher place than ever before in the congress of nations, by reason of 
the recognition received from leading powers. The most eminent scholars of Latin America 
met at the Brazilian capital in a Latin-American Scientific Congress, an event of unusual 
importance in the history of scientific research in the New World. By the reéstablishment 
of the Legation of Mexico, all the countries of America, with the single exception of Vene- 
zuela, were represented in the diplomatic corps of Brazil. The Legation of the United States 
was elevated to.an Embassy, Brazil being the first South American country to receive this 
distinguished recognition from the great republic-of the north. Ambassador Thompson was 
appointed to represent the United States at Rio, and Ambassador Joaquim Nabuco was sent 
in the same exalted capacity to represent Brazil at Washington. The precedence which 
Brazil enjoys among the religious congregations of South America was signalized by the 
appointment of Archbishop Arcoverde of Rio to the Sacred College of Cardinals, Brazil 
being the first South American country to be 
thus honored by the Holy See. 

The inauguration of a new era in the 
national life and progress of Brazil, was par- 
ticularly emphasized by the events of inter- 
national importance which marked the closing 
year of the administration of President Alves. 
For the first time in the history of the New 
World, a conference of the leading statesmen 
representing each of the republics of which it is 
composed was held in a South American capital; 
andwtor .theptirst time in. the. history of the 
republic of the United States, its Secretary of 
State paid an official visit to a foreign nation. 
The occasion was one of great political signifi- 
cance, and as such all the nations of the world 
regarded it. The attention of the great powers 
was directed to Brazil as never before, and their 
eyes were opened to the fact that in South 
America, as well as in North America, the spirit 
of western civilization has developed powerful and imposing factors in the control of the 
world’s politics. The reunion of the third Pan-American Congress at Rio, and the visit to 
that city of Secretary Elihu Root of the United States, were the natural consequences of a 


DR. QUINTINO BOCAYUVA, 


106 THE NEW BRAZIL 


recognition of the united interest between the countries of North and South America which 
has been developing within recent years, and especially since the organization of the first 
Pan-American Congress. Within this time Brazil has changed her form of government from 
an empire to a republic, and the cordiality which marked her attitude toward the United 
States under the former régime has been strengthened under the new order of things. 
There is a natural bond between Brazil and the United States in their territorial greatness 
and their political destiny; and the friendship which exists between them can only be 
productive of good results. The welcome accorded to Mr. Root, the handsome demon- 
stration of goodwill made by the Brazilian people in his honor and that of the nation he 
represented, profoundly impressed the great statesman. 

The third Pan-American Congress held its sessions in the magnificent Monroe Palace, 
which occupies an ideal site overlooking the bay, at the junction of the Avenida Central and 
the Avenida Beira-Mar. The Congress was formally opened by the provisional president, 
Baron de Rio-Branco, who, with Secretary Root, was afterward elected honorary president, 
Ambassador Joaquim Nabuco, of Brazil, being called to the active presidency. In his inau- 
sural address, Baron de Rio-Branco defined the purpose of the Congress, which was not 
for the discussion of political differences, but for the mutual interchange of ideas to promote 
the common good, looking forward to the blessing of international fraternity. The welcome 
which he extended in the name of the Brazilian nation was characterized by the proverbial 
hospitality of its people. In the interval between the sessions, the visitors had an oppor- 
tunity to enjoy the charm of Brazilian life and to revel in the beauty of the most picturesque 
capital of the world. The deliberations of Congress were devoted to questions involving 
the general welfare of all the countries represented. Resolutions were adopted ratifying the 
adhesion of the Congress to the principle of arbitration, and recommending to the nations 
there represented that they give instructions to their delegates to the second Congress of 
the Hague to advocate, in that assembly, the celebration of a general convention of arbitra- 
tion so efficacious and definite that, by meriting the approbation of the civilized world, it 
may be accepted and placed in power by all nations. It was also resolved to continue the 
International Union of American Republics, created by the first Congress and confirmed by 
the second, and to reorganize the International Bureau of American Republics, which will 
represent the Union, having in its custody the archives of the Pan-American Congresses, 
and contributing by all means in its power, supported by the various republics, to further 
the purposes of the Union. Further resolutions treating of questions of Pan-American 
interest were passed, among which one of the most important related to the construction 
of the Pan-American railroad. It was resolved that each country should promote the 
construction of that part of the road to pass through its territory, organizing engineer 
corps to aid in necessary surveys, etc., and determining the concessions of lands, sub- 
sidies, guarantees on invested capital, and other matters bearing on the financial features 
of the enterprise, with a view to completing the work with the least possible delay and 
expense. The means of facilitating communication between the countries of America 


Poemen Lee RESIDENTS AND EARLY STATESMEN 107 


received considerable attention, especially the question of steamship lines, telegraphs and 
postal service. An international board of jurists was formed, composed of one representa- 
tive from each of the American republics, appointed by the respective governments, for the 
purpose of preparing a project 
for an international code of 
laws, the first reunion of the 
board to meet in Rio de Janeiro 
in 1907. It was also resolved 
to recommend to the various 
governments the celebration 
of an International American 
(Zomierence at sao Paulo. to 
study the question of coffee 
production, which is of great 
economic importance to most 
of the countries of America. 
A revision of the monetary 
system of each of the republics 
was recommended, and a care- 
ful analysis of the information 
to be .gained about industrial, 
legal and financial conditions 
throughout the American con- 
tinent. 

The arrival of Mr. Root at 
the Congress was the occasion 
of an especial demonstration. 
The address of welcome in his 
honor was delivered by the 
president of the Congress, Ambassador Joaquim Nabuco, and Secretary Root responded in 
a memorable speech, which has since been published in the leading American and European 
periodicals. Special envoys from several European countries were sent to Brazil to be 
present on an occasion which was of importance to the whole civilized world. The 
Monroe Palace was the scene of great animation, the flags that floated over it signifying 
the cordial union of all the nations there represented. The Brazilian flag bore in its blue 
field twenty-two stars, one of which stood for the newly acquired territory of Acre. 

When the presidential term of President Alves expired, the nation had hardly had 
time to realize the magnitude of his services to the country, so rapidly had events passed 
before the eyes of the people during the activity and change which marked his administra- 
tion. The transformation of the capital had caused some doubts and fears, when rigid 


THE SUPREME COURT, RIO DE JANEIRO. 


108 THE NEW BRAZIL 


sanitary methods disturbed the general comfort, and the tearing down of more than a 
thousand homes threatened all sorts of evils. The moment furnished an opportunity 
for political malcontents to stir up feeling against the President and his ministers on an 
unworthy pretext, and, led by General Travassos and Colonel Lauro Sodré, an armed 
force of more than one thousand men prepared to march on the palace. When warned 
that his life was in danger, and advised to seek safety, as the attack had come too suddenly 
to admit of its being met by adequate forces of the government, President Alves responded 
with characteristic firmness and decision: “My place is here, and only as a dead man will 
I be taken away.” Through the wonderful devotion and sang froid of the President, and 
through the loyalty and courage of General Hermes da Fonseca, who resisted the insur- 
gents’ attack on the military school of Realengo and sent the first warning to the palace, 
the threatened catastrophe was averted, the disturbance quelled and quiet restored. The 
leaders were imprisoned, General Travassos dying soon afterward from the effects of a 
wound received on the night of the attack. The Minister of War disarmed the military 
students implicated in the revolt and they were imprisoned. In Matto Grosso the authori- 
ties were obliged to call on the Federal government for troops to put down a political 
revolt, which lasted for several months. But these uprisings were of minor importance 
in the light of the lasting good accomplished in the history of this administration. 

Peace and tranquillity reigned in every part of the republic when President Alves retired 
from office. He left the public credit established on a firm basis. Important improve- 
ments in many States showed an awakened energy and enterprise which found expres- 
Sion in all sections. The new Federal capital stood as a splendid memorial to his genius. 
Yellow fever had been stamped out and a transformation effected, not only in the sanitation 
and hygiene of the city, but also in the management of its hospitals and asylums. New 
railways had been inaugurated, plans perfected for the investigation of important mineral 
resources, and the Caixa de Amortizagao inaugurated to prepare the way for the adoption 
of a gold standard of currency. In the war department, reforms had been introduced, 
military hospitals, quartels, and arsenals had been improved in management and equip- 
ment, and military education had been systematized according to more modern methods. 
In military reforms, the higher officials of the army codperated with the minister, the 
commander-in-chief, General Mendes de Moraes, who is one of Brazil’s most distinguished 
soldiers, giving special attention to the organization of the army. Increased importance 
had been assured to the marine defence by an arrangement for the purchase of new 
warships; naval instruction had been advanced through the establishment of modern 
technical schools and by a programme of naval visits to national and foreign ports in 
the interests of a broader naval education. Through the department of Foreign Affairs the 
exterior interests of Brazil had kept pace with its interior development, the foreign relation 
of the republic being promoted with such honor and glory to the nation that at the 
close of President Alves’s administration the country enjoyed greater prestige abroad 
than ever before. 


Babee eee SIOENTS AND EARLY STATESMEN 109 


It is not surprising that the Brazilian people came to appreciate the greatness of their 
President, and that the national voice was unanimous in gratitude to him and his able and 
loyal ministers for the noble work that was accomplished in the behalf of their country 
through the stupendous efforts of his administration. Calm and serene in voice and 
manner, President Rodrigues Alves gave little suggestion in his gentle personality of the 
indomitable energy and unflinching courage which marked his character, yet his will was 
iron where the question of duty was involved, and all the powers of antagonism or 
persuasion could not shake him from a position taken in the belief that it was for the 
best interests of his beloved Brazil. And this firmness and patriotism have distinguished 
Dr. Rodrigues Alves not only as President but throughout his whole public career, which 
shows a record worthy of immortal fame. He was born in the State of Sao Paulo in 
the little city of Guaretingueta, July 7, 1849. His remarkable intellectual and moral quali- 
ties early attracted attention. He was one of the most promising students of the Law 
School, from which he was graduated while still in his teens, and when only twenty- 
two years of age he was elected a deputy to the Provincial Assembly of Sado Paulo. The 
campaign in favor of the abolition of 
slavery found in him an ardent and 
able champion, and he employed his 
talents both as an orator and a journal- 
ist in behalf of the cause, until its tri-+ 
umph was celebrated by the famous 
Emancipation Bill signed by the Prin- 
cess Regent in 1888. Dr. Rodrigues 
Alves was then president of the prov- 
ince of Sao Paulo, an honor which he 
held until the fall of the empire, when 
he was elected a deputy to the Con- 
stitutional Assembly of the Republic. 
His financial ability and administrative 
judgment were of the most eminent 
value to the new government. As 
Minister of Finance under President 
Floriano Peixoto and afterward under 
President Prudente Moraes, his ser- 
vices proved indispensable to the 
task of bringing order out of chaos 
in the financial affairs of the country 
during the first years of the republic. As Senator of the republic, and later, as President 
of the State of Sao Paulo, when by the choice of the nation he was called to the high 
office of President of Brazil, Dr. Rodrigues Alves always held the respect, esteem and 


DR. LAURO MULLER. 


110 THE NEW BRAZIL 


affection of his people, who recognized in the qualities of their honored compatriot the 
best interpretation of the national character. 

When the mantle of state fell from the shoulders of Dr. Rodrigues Alves, the question 
of a worthy successor to the honor of the nation’s highest gift was solved by the election of 
Dr. Affonso Augusto Moreira Penna, who was inaugurated President of the republic on the 
15th of November, 1906. President Penna was Vice-President during the administration of 
President Alves, and perfect accord and sympathy existed between these two great men, 
who had been companions and collaborators in political and literary journalism forty years 
before, when as students together in the Law School of Sao Paulo they were inspired by 
the same lofty sentiment of patriotism, and joined hands with equal ardor in the combat 
against political wrongs. 

President Affonso Penna was born at Santa Barbara, in the State of Minas Geraes, on 
the 30th of November, 1847, and is the first representative of that State to be elected Presi- 
dent of Brazil, though Minas has given many noble sons to the republic, statesmen and 
politicians, who. have contributed greatly toward making the government stable and pros- 
perous, as it is to-day, an honor and a credit to the nation. The present President brings to 
his high office the rich experience gained through a long period of political activity, first as a 
provincial deputy, in 1874, then as a deputy to the Imperial Chamber, and later as Minister of 
War, Minister of Agriculture, and Minister of Justice under the empire. Three years after the 
inauguration of the republic, he was elected President of the State of Minas Geraes. While 
in that office he transferred the capital of the State from Ouro Preto to the present seat of 
government, Bello Horizonte, which was planned and laid out under his direction, in an ideal 
locality, on the main line of the chief railroad of the State. The Law School of Minas Geraes 
was founded by President Penna, who is deeply interested in the progress of education in 
his country. When the term of his presidency of the State of Minas expired, Dr. Penna 
returned to his fazenda in Santa Barbara. He was not long permitted to remain in private 
life, however, his talents being demanded in the service of his country. Though he declined, 
first the honor of a chair in the Supreme Federal Tribunal, and later the appointment of 
Minister Plenipotentiary, he found himself obliged to yield to the urgent request of his old 
friend, Dr. Rodrigues Alves, when, as Minister of Finance in the government of Dr. Prudente 
Moraes, that statesman echoed the call of the President, appointing the illustrious Mineiro to 
the directorship of the Bank of the Republic. Upon his retirement three years later, Dr. Penna 
became Director of the Law School of Minas, and devoted his exclusive attention to its 
interests until 1903, when he was elected to the vice-presidency of the republic. In 1906 
he retired from this office to assume the higher duties and responsibilities which devolve 
upon him as President of Brazil. In his exalted position as chief of the nation, President 
Penna has the unbounded confidence and esteem of his people, who know, from long 
acquaintance, his sterling character, and the rare quality of his genius as a statesman. 

When Dr. Penna assumed the presidency, Dr. Nilo Pecanha was elected Vice-President. 
Dr. Peganha, who represents the younger generation, began his public career with the 


a eee KLOIDENT SAND EARLY. STATESMEN at 


inauguration of the Republic, when, at twenty-two years of age he was elected a deputy to 
the Constitutional Assembly. Since that time he has rendered distinguished services to his 
country as Deputy, Senator and Governor 
of the State of Rio. He is one of the most 
gifted sons of the republic. | 

With characteristic energy and judg- 
ment, Dr. Penna prepared for his admin- 
istration by making a tour of the republic, 
in order to become familiar with the social, 
industrial, and political situation in the dif- 
ferent states. The importance of sucha 
trip could hardly be overestimated, and it 
was frequently referred to in the Presi- 
dent’s inaugural address, in which he ex- 
plained his programme of government, 
and revealed his determination to make 
the amelioration of economic conditions 
a leading feature of his administration. 
On this subject he said: “The economic 
activity so noticeable here and abroad is 
a Sure indication that we are entering ona 
period that promises well for the general 
welfare. To accompany this movement, 
which has already absorbed the attention 


fi an ADMIRAL JOAQUIM ANTONIO CORDOVIL MAURITY, 
of the rest of the civilized world, is in- COMMANDER OF THE FLEET. 


dispensable under penalty of seriously 
compromising the country’s future. This conviction is happily now general amongst us 
and has influenced the Governments of the different Brazilian States. 

“In modern times the question par excellence which occupies the attention of gov- 
ernments, statesmen, assemblies, and the press, is economic. Congresses assemble, inter- 
national treaties are celebrated, and conflicts menace the peace of nations, as the result of 
the economic question in its various and multiplied phases. 

“The high mission of the state is to guard the well-being and improve the condition of 
life among the people, exercising its beneficent action in the various branches of social 
activity wherever individual initiative, in its diverse forms, is shown to be powerless or 
insufficient.” 

Following the policy defined in the President’s programme, the present administration 
is promoting and stimulating agricultural and industrial production as a means toward 
securing greater prosperity and happiness among the whole people. With this object in 
view, the President recommends the encouragement of immigration, technical training 


iy THE NEW BRAZIL 


schools, reasonably protective customs tariffs, giving preference to national products for the 
consumption of public establishments; the lowering of freights by land and water, facilities 
for the loading and unloading of merchandise, the introduction of agricultural and manu- 
facturing machinery, the development of home and foreign commerce; and he adds that 
the field is sufficiently vast for the exercise of the best efforts of the government, aided by 
individual initiative. In his programme, the building of railways has an important place, 
because of its intimate relation to the question of immigration, which must be solved before 
the vast riches of the country can be efficiently developed. The reorganization of the 
monetary system is regarded as one of the most urgent problems, and the President gave it 
considerable attention in his inaugural message, endorsing the law of 1899 for the valorization 
of the currency, but advising precautions against the danger of too rapid reform, which must 
cause distress. In international relations, President Penna continues the policy of the pre- 
vious administration, which has been productive of so much honor and prestige to the 
country. He clearly stated in his inaugural speech that.on the American continent there 
can be emulation only in trade and industry, in moral-and material progress, and in the 
conquests of civilization, each nation endeavoring to draw the most benefit therefrom and 
from the gifts of bountiful Nature, to the advantage of humanity at large. Between Brazil 
and her sister republics of America there are no differences that cannot be easily solved 
without conflict. 


DR. FRANCISCO ROSA E SILVA. 


TRE BRAK 
ee segs OF THES: 
UNIVERSITY OF #LLINOIS 


ie 


THE PALMS IN THE GARDEN OF ITAMARATY PALACE, RIO DE JANEIRO. 


CHAPTER VI 
THE PRESIDENT’S CABINET 


le the appointment of the ministers 
of his Cabinet, President Affonso 
Penna has called to his council states- 
men eminently qualified to cooperate 
with him in the execution of his great 
plan for the continued development 
and well-being of Brazil. A spirit of 
active patriotism, expressed through 
practical judgment, broad knowledge, 
strong initiative, and remarkable ad- 
ministrative energy, pervades the circle 
: of advisers by whom His Excellency 
SMALL RECEPTION ROOM, ITAMARATY PALACE. is surrounded and loyally assisted in 
the chief executive office. 

The Department of Foreign Affairs, through which the power and reputation of Brazil 
abroad was advanced with unprecedented honor to the country during the last administra- 
tion, continues to reflect the diplomatic statesmanship of its illustrious chief, Baron de Rio- 
Branco, who retains this portfolio at/the request of President Penna, and in accordance 
with the sentiment of the whole nation. As elsewhere stated, it is the second time in the 
history of Brazil that the Minister of Foreign Affairs has held office through two successive 
administrations; the other instance having occurred under the empire, when Viscount de 
Rio-Branco, the father of the baron, was foreign minister. No name in Brazil is held in 
greater esteem and affection than that of Rio-Branco, which is identified not only with the 
triumph of liberal principles under the empire, but with the beginning of a new era in the 
aggrandizement of the republic. Born a “ Fluminense,” as the people of Rio are generally 
called, Baron de Rio-Branco was educated in his own country and in Europe, and began 
his diplomatic career at twenty-four years of age, when, in 1869, he went as secretary to 


Pus 


116 THEONEY BRAZIL 


his father, who was then foreign minister, on a special mission to Argentina and Para- 
guay. The following year he was appointed secretary of a special mission to negotiate the 


YELLOW SALON OF ITAMARATY PALACE. 


final treaty of peace with Paraguay. Two years later, as deputy to the Imperial Chamber, 
the ardent young patriot made a strong campaign on the floor of the Chamber and in the 
columns of the Nagao, of which he was the editor, in favor of the Rio-Branco law for 
the suppression of slavery. From that time to the present he has continued to serve his 
country at home and abroad, and the record of his phenomenal success in adjusting differ- 
ences between Brazil and foreign countries, and especially in securing the favorable settle- 
ment of long-standing boundary claims, is unsurpassed in modern diplomacy. As minister 
plenipotentiary on a special mission to Washington in 1893 he secured for Brazil the favor- 
able decision of President Cleveland in the arbitration of the question of the Argentina 
boundary. As soon as this was settled his government commissioned him to prepare its 
case in the dispute over the boundary of French Guiana, in which he won a second 
triumph, the Swiss government deciding overwhelmingly in favor of Brazil. For his 
success in this mission, Congress conferred upon him the title of “ Benemerito Brasileiro,” 
with a life annuity, as an expression of the national gratitude, at the same time appointing 
him Minister to Berlin. From this post he was called by President Rodrigues Alves to be 
Minister of Foreign Affairs. By the settlement of boundary questions, including that of Acre, 
which was accomplished during the last administration, Baron de Rio-Branco has added 
to Brazilian territory nearly five hundred thousand square kilométres, thus, as an American 


POE SERESIDEN TS © CABINET: 117 


ambassador said recently, “altering the map of the continent and increasing the geographical 
superficies of his country without recourse to war and even avoiding it.” With the conclu- 
sion of negotiations now in progress for the settlement of boundary claims with Peru, 
Colombia, and Venezuela, the Foreign Office will have finally disposed of the question of 
limits. Disputed boundaries have long been a source of trouble to the South American 
republics, constituting the most irritating obstacle to their international peace and friendship. 
As Brazil borders on all these countries except Chile, the establishment of her boundaries 
is an important step toward the final conclusion of the whole matter. 

The influence of the Foreign Office has never been so powerfully felt in the progress 
and advancement of the republic as under the administration of Baron de Rio-Branco, 
during which the country has received signal manifestations of international respect and 
friendship. The creation of a Brazilian cardinal, the appointment of an American ambas- 
sador and the official visit of a foreign secretary of state, afford culminating proofs of the 
policy of the Foreign Office, which aims at the constant development of foreign relations, 
believing they should be extended and strengthened to keep pace with interior progress 
and prosperity. It is this broad and liberal attitude toward foreign interests which has 
contributed most powerfully to give Brazil the importance abroad that its greatness merits, 


¢ 
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; 


GARDEN OF ITAMARATY PALACE 


and which has led the press of Europe to christen it “The Colossus of the South,” in 
contradistinction to the title which the United States bears among European statesmen, as 
“The Colossus of the North.” 


118 THE NEW BRAZIL 


The great Brazilian chancellor stands high in the esteem of statesmen all over the 
world, as the most eminent man of his day in South American diplomacy. Every detail of 
the Foreign Office receives his personal atten- 
tion, or that of the distinguished Director- 
General, Dr. Federico Affonso de Carvalho, 
who has been connected with this depart- 

- ment for forty years, and possesses an in- 
valuable fund of knowledge in foreign affairs. 
The great activity that prevails under the 
present administration has tripled the corre- 
spondence, cablegrams, etc., which daily pass 
through its hands. At the present moment 
arrangements are being completed for the 
reception and entertainment of His Most 
Faithful Majesty, King Carlos of Portugal, 
who is to arrive in Rio in May, 1908, as 
the most noble and illustrious guest of the 
Brazilian nation. The occasion will be the 
celebration of the centennial anniversary of 
the opening of Brazilian ports to foreign 
commerce by King Dom Jodo VI. of Portu- 
gal, Brazil, and Algarves, the royal ancestor 
of the reigning monarch of Portugal. The 
visit of His Majesty will mark an epoch in 
international relations, as it will be the first 
time in the history of nations that the 
emancipated offspring of an Old World 
monarchy have had the honor of enter- 
taining the reigning majesty of the father- 
land in their New World republican home. 
It is another proof of the genius of her Minister of Foreign Affairs that Brazil thus sets the 
first example of a closer fraternity between the governments of the Old and the New World. 
The Itamaraty Palace is the official residence of the Foreign Minister and of the Depart- 
ment of Foreign Affairs. It is handsomely fitted up for the reception and entertainment of 
distinguished foreign guests. The spacious ballroom with furnishings of green and gold 
presents a magnificent spectacle on the occasion of a brilliant state function, when the effect- 
iveness of Parisian gowns is heightened by the rare old jewels which are brought out of 
caskets that have been heirlooms through generations, and have a history often both inter- 
esting and romantic. The gay uniforms which are seen at these balls give an additional note 
of color and brightness, those of the Brazilian officers being particularly handsome. The 


BARON DE RIO-BRANCO, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS. 


ie LOLOL ND ee OADINET 119 


yellow salon is the principal reception room, a spacious and elegantly furnished apartment; 
the walls are covered in yellow satin and hung with rich draperies of the same color. 
Adorning the wall is a famous allegorical painting by Pedro Americo, entitled “Paz e Con- 
cordia.” Bronze busts of noted statesmen of the empire and the republic are given a place 
of honor. The green and gold salon and the rose salon, where the Minister receives 
his guests, and where many important conferences take place, are arranged in exquisite 
harmony and good taste. 

A special feature of the Foreign Office is its library, a magnificent collection, which is 
installed in the most attractive room of the Palace on a broad and well lighted corridor 
overlooking the Palace garden, embowered in green and redolent of the perfume of rare 
flowers. During the festivities attending the various international meetings that have been 
held in Rio during the Baron de Rio-Branco’s administration of Foreign Affairs, the Itamaraty 
Palace has been the scene of princely hospitality. Receptions, dinners, banquets and 
balls were given to the delegates of the Pan-American Congress, to the members of the 
International Scientific Conference, to Secretary Root and his party, and to the distinguished 


GREEN AND GOLD SALON, ITAMARATY PALACE. 


ex-President of Argentina, General Julio Roca, who was entertained with sumptuous liber- 
ality during his last visit to Rio in 1907. The baron is an affable and thoughtful host, and 


120 THE NEW BRAZIL 


dispenses the honors of his house with the same tact and consideration that have proved 
an open sesame in the case of so many diplomatic problems in the Foreign Office. 

The finance minister of 
the present administration, Dr. 
David Campista, is a thorough 
exponent of the prevailing 
sentiment of President Penna’s 
Cabinet in favor of strenuous 
effort, and his remarkable rec- 
ord as jurist, financier, author, 
and statesman, shows that he 
has few idle moments in his 
useful life. He has always 
been a patriotic republican, 
and his strong initiative was 
shown at the very beginning 
of his political career, when at 

ITAMARATY PALACE, THE FOREIGN OFFICE. twenty-four years of age, he 
organized a large republican 
party of which he was elected chief. This was in Ouro Preto, in 1887, and two years later 
he was unanimously elected deputy to the Provincial Assembly of Minas. After the procla- 
mation of the republic he went as deputy to the Constitutional Assembly, in which he was 
the leader of the radical group, and proved himself a power in debate by his forcible logic 
and eloquence. His exceptional administrative ability was discovered by President Penna 
fifteen years ago, when the present chief executive was president of the State of Minas, and 
Dr. Campista was his secretary of Agriculture, Commerce, and Public Works. Under the 
succeeding government, the minister was sent to Europe ona special mission from his State, 
in the interest of colonization, financial negotiations, and other state matters, and by the 
successful result of this mission, he proved his eminent ability as a financier, introducing 
fifty thousand immigrants at about half the expense that Brazil had always paid before. 
In 1898, Dr. Campista became Minister of Finance in the government of Minas, and during 
the four years that he occupied this post he contributed two important works to the 
literature of finance. While a deputy to the national legislature during the past three years, 
he made himself famous by his successful campaign in defence of a plan for the valorization 
of coffee and the fixing of the exchange. With the varied knowledge acquired in economic 
and financial affairs, and the success achieved in every branch of the public service to 
which his attention has been directed, the present Minister of Finance is particularly well 
equipped for the duties and responsibilities of his high office. 

The Caixa de Amortizacdo, or treasury building, in which are the offices of the Finance 

Minister, is an imposing edifice of granite and marble, occupying a square on the new 


Oe Ee ieee EN hoe CABINET . 121 


Avenida Central. It is one of the handsomest public buildings of the capital and is con- 
spicuous in the long line of magnificent new buildings which make the Avenida unique 
as a modern, metropolitan thorough- 
fare. As the Department of Finance 
supervises all institutions connected 
with the income and expenditures of 
the government, its money and the 
public debt, the Caixa de Amortizagao 
is the headquarters of various offices 
dependent on this branch of the public 
service. As its name implies, the Caixa 
de Amortizagdo has charge of the 
sinking fund for the redemption of 
the government’s notes, and it is here 
that the conversion of the paper CORRIDOR LEADING TO THE LIBRARY, ITAMARATY PALACE. 
money is made. The constant with- 
drawal of paper money from circulation has been the chief cause of the steady rise in 
exchange, which in 1898 was as low as 6d. and is now over 15d. The paper money 
in circulation is 748,508,851 milreis, a reduction 
oe . of 196,159,283 milreis having been made in less 
than six years. According to Minister Campista’s 
‘latest report, the public credit is better than ever 
before, the financial statistics showing that Brazil 
is amply provided to meet all her obligations. 
The President’s Cabinet is an evidence that 
the spirit of practical patriotism is strong among 
the younger generation of Brazilians, the Vice- 
President and three of the ministers being under 
_thirty-five, though possessing wide experience 
in’ affairs of State. Dr. Tavares de Lyra, the 
Minister of Interior and Justice, is a native of 
the little city of Macahyba, State of Rio Grande 
do Norte. Elected a Federal deputy at twenty- 
one years of age, he continued to represent his 
ae State in the National Chamber until he was 
esis | elected Governor of Rio Grande do Norte in 
DR. TAVARES DE LYRA, 1904, Which office he held when appointed 
Netw c ips Minister of the Interior and Justice in President 
Penna’s Cabinet. The influences that led to Dr. Tavares de Lyra’s appointment to a post 
of such great responsibility, are to be traced in the exceptional record of his services to his 


122 THE NEW BRAZIL 


country while a Deputy of the Federal Chamber, when as Secretary of the House, and as a 
member of the most important commissions, he became noted through his valuable con- 
tributions to judicial affairs, especially by his collaboration in the project of the Civil Code, 
and his profound and patient study of all matters relating to law and justice. His adminis- 
tration as governor proved him to be not only a ruler of unlimited resource and initiative, 
but a conscientious and devoted patriot. 

The Department of Interior and Justice supervises the national interests as related to 
public order and tranquillity, directing the judicial institutions of the government; under its 
jurisdiction are maintained the various establishments for the promotion of public health 
and comfort. The reports to this department from the Director-General of Public Health, 
Dr. Oswaldo Cruz, show that wonderful results have been obtained through the sanitation 
of the Federal capital and the 
extinction of yellow fever and 
other diseases. The hygiene 
of private dwellings is being 
improved, and the question of 
proper ventilation more thor- 
oughly studied. The schools 
of correction, the correctional’ 
colony, insane asylums, and 
similar institutions are gov- 
erned through this department. 

The youngest Minister of 
the Cabinet, Dr. Miguel Calmon 
du Pin e Almeida holds the port- 
folio of Industry, Transporta- 
tion, and Public Works, one of 
the most important offices of the 
government. It comprises so many features, that the multiplicity of duties connected with 
it has led more than once in previous administrations to a solicitation for the creation of a 
new department. Yet Dr. Calmon has already proved himself such a capable and indefatig- 
able statesman, that the general sentiment is one of Supreme confidence in the wisdom of 
President Penna’s choice. Dr. Calmon, who was born in Bahia in September, 1879, is a son 
of Rear-Admiral Calmon, and a descendant of the great Marquis de Abrantes, who in 1827, 
at the same age, and bearing the same name as the present Minister, was Minister of Finance 
to Dom Pedro I. Although only twenty-eight years of age, Dr. Calmon has had nearly six 
years experience In an administrative capacity, as Secretary of Agriculture, Transportation, 
Industry and Public Works in the cabinet of the Governor of Bahia, with only a short 
interval, during which he went to the East on a special mission, visiting Ceylon, Java, and 
Sumatra, to study the culture of coffee, tobacco, sugar, and rubber in those countries. During 


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FACADE OF THE LIBRARY, ITAMARATY PALACE. 


THERRRESIOEN 1S CABINE fF fee 


his administration in Bahia, Dr. Calmon_ reor- 
ganized the whole system of his department, 
introducing modern plans and adopting the most 
advanced measures for the improvement and 
development of the material wealth and pros- 
perity of his State. He created an agency for 
industrial and commercial propaganda, appointed 
itinerant teachers of practical agriculture, formed a 
mineralogical commission, under the direction of 
Dr. Orville A. Derby, an expert geologist, for the 
investigation of mining properties of the State; 
secured legislation in favor of the rubber indus- 
try of Bahia, by which he increased the rubber 
exports from fifty-two tons in rgo1 to one thou- 
sand one hundred and forty-two tons in 1905; 
and in addition to a number of measures which 
he introduced for the increase of agricultural 
production and mineral development, he amelio- DR. DAVID CAMPISTA, MINISTER OF “FINANCE. 
rated and extended the railway system of the 
State, and accomplished a multitude of minor 
improvements. His especial attention has 
recently been given to the question of mining 
laws, and in his official report to the Presi- 
dent of the State of Bahia in 1903, he con- 
tributed a valuable work on the subject, 
showing the result of a methodical study of 
the mining legislation of Brazil, and a careful 
examination of the difficulties in the way of 
necessary reform, with the means by which 
they may be overcome. In his present 
administration Dr. Calmon has created a 
Geological Survey Department, under the 
direction of Dr. Orville A. Derby for the 
especial study of the mineralogy of Brazil. 
Besides the enormous amount of work which 
he has been able to accomplish in an admin- 
istrative capacity, the young statesman has 
contributed articles to the press of Bahia, Rio, 
BRUSH ON Cie Beat MED TER OP and Paris on his favorite subjects and has 
INDUSTRY, TRANSPORTATION, AND PUBLIC WORKS. published more than thirty pamphlets within 


J 


124 THE NEW BRAZIL 


the past three years, treating of mining, agriculture, and railways. With such a record for 
efficient and faithful service to his government, the Minister of Industry, Transportation, 
and Public Works assumes the important duties which the interests of the nation demand, 
giving his best talents to the economic problems of the country, as far as they are related to 
this department. The extension of railways, which is a part of the programme of President 
Penna’s government, is being promoted in every State of the union, the present railway systems 
covering an extent of fifteen thousand miles. The improvement of the port of Bahia is in 
progress and work has been started for the removal of the sand bar at the port of Rio Grande 
do Sul, as well as for the construction of a port at Massiambu, in the State of Santa Catharina. 
The telegraph and postal service, which was greatly improved under the last administration is 


INTERIOR OF THE LIBRARY, ITAMARATY PALACE. 


being made still more efficient and general; and the important problem of immigration is being 
solved in the most practical and satisfactory manner, through the efforts of this department. 

The appointment of Marshal Hermes da Fonseca to the Cabinet of President Penna, as 
Minister of War, was greeted with enthusiasm by the people of Brazil, who have great admir- 
ation for the noble soldier, and confidence in his ability to add lustre to the military prestige 
of Brazil by his administration. His record as an officer of the empire, and later, of the 
republic, shows him to have had the advantage of a wide experience, gained not only 
through military training, but also by means of that intuitive insight which characterizes 
successful leaders of men in every branch of public life. Marshal Hermes da Fonseca was 
born in 1855 and began his military training at sixteen. Five years later he was appointed 
second lieutenant of artillery, and his promotion followed rapidly to first lieutenant, captain, 


; CoA Bee RESOEN 1S ACADINET 


major, lieutenant-colonel, brigadier-general, 
major-general, and marshal of Brazil, the last 
honor being conferred upon him on the 6th 
of November, 1906. He is a high authority on 
military education and has no superior in 
technical knowledge and executive ability, 
while his zealous patriotism and the high 
principles ‘which govern his actions make 
him worthy of the emulation of the military 
youth of Brazil. 

The active military force of the country 
is regulated by the legislature every year. At 
present the total land forces, including the 
Federal troops and the police force under 
military organization is about fifty thousand 
men. This does not include volunteer organi- 
zations or civilian guards and semi-military 
companies maintained in the different States. 
Military service is not compulsory in Brazil, 
and vacancies ‘are filled by volunteers, as In 


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MARSHAL HERMES DA FONSECA, MINISTER OF WAR. 


the United States of America. A volunteer cannot enlist for less than three years, though he 


ADMIRAL ALEXANDRINO DE ALENCAR, 
MINISTER OF MARINE. 


may re-enlist at the end of that period, always for a 
three-years’ term. Although the organized army 
lacks reserves, yet the military police of the dif- 
ferent States practically constitutes such a force. 
Under the supervision of the Minister of War, the 


military government is divided into seven districts 


with headquarters in the principal cities and under 
the command of generals of the army. All the 
technical establishments, the military colleges, army 
hospitals, and a new military sanatorium now in 
construction, as well as the army library and similar 
institutions, are maintained out of the budget of the 
War Department. 

The Minister of Marine, Rear-Admiral Alexan- 
drino Faria de Alencar, is a son of the “Military 
State” of Rio Grande do Sul, which has given to 
Brazil great heroes both of the army and navy, at 
all periods of its history. His naval education 
began at sixteen when he entered the naval school 


126 THE NEW BRAZIL 


as a cadet, in 1865. From his graduation three years later to his appointment to his present 
post of Minister of Marine, Admiral Alencar has served his country in every branch of the 
naval service, receiving the rank of rear-admiral in 1902. His technical training and his 
knowledge of naval tactics, as well as his administrative ability, are of recognized superiority. 

In accordance with the decision of the previous government, the naval power of Brazil 
has been augmented by the purchase of three ironclad battle ships of thirteen thousand 
tons; three cruisers of nine thousand seven hundred tons; six torpedo destroyers of four 
hundred tons; twelve torpedo gunboats, three submarine boats, a naval transport with 
capacity for six thousand tons of coal; a school ship with displacement not exceeding three 
thousand tons. A new marine arsenal is under construction. The present naval force of 
Brazil consists of a fleet of fifty-four ships, large and small, classified as seven battle ships, 
eight cruisers, three torpedo destroyers, nine torpedo boats, five gunboats, eight dispatch boats, 
three steamers, three tugboats, auxiliary steamers, a yacht, two brigs, and three pataches. 

The officers of the navy include: One admiral, two vice-admirals, ten rear-admirals, 
twenty captains, forty commanders, eighty lieutenant-commanders, one hundred and sixty 
first lieutenants, one hundred and fifty second lieutenants, and four hundred and sixty-three 
commissioned officers. Besides these, there are one hundred and twenty ensigns, one thou- 
sand five hundred naval apprentices, and two thousand five hundred naval workmen. 
In nearly every seaport there is an apprentice sailor school, a strictly Brazilian institution 
of great utility, partly civic and partly military in purpose. 

Although hardly a year has passed since the present administration began its work, 
notable progress has been made in every department of the government, in accordance with 
the aspiration of the President, who has the earnest and faithful co6peration of every member 
of his Cabinet. 


THE ROSE SALON, ITAMARATY PALACE, 


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‘OUISNVE ACG OW ‘AVA AHL ONOTY GUVAA INO ATW-XIS V “UVW-VUIEd VGINSAV AHL 


CHAPTER VII 
THE NEW FEDERAL CAPITAL 


S if in obedience to the wand of enchant- 
ment, a new Rio has risen out of the heart 
of the quaint old-fashioned city which visitors 
to Brazil knew less than half a dozen years 
ago. To-day the Brazilian metropolis is modern, 
picturesque, and altogether the most surprising 
capital of the world. In an incredibly short time, 
it has been transformed from a labyrinth of 
narrow streets and congested alleys into a hand- 
some city of broad boulevards and beautifully 
shaded avenues, paved with asphalt and lighted 
by a system of electricity as modern as that of 
New York or Paris. The evidence of western 
energy and enterprise is everywhere manifested 
in the bustle of traffic, the rapid transit of elec- 
tric cars, the “fon-fon” of hundreds of auto- 
’ mobiles, and the general atmosphere of progress 
i SAGE Re and prosperity which pervades the new-made 
metropolis. 

In the history of Rio there have been many changes, and life has varied its aspects, to 
accord with the successive conditions of a city which has been, within the short space of a 
century, the capital of a province, a kingdom, an empire, and a republic; but no previous 
change has so completely and vitally affected its destiny as the recent metamorphosis. 
Formerly, when visiting Rio, enjoying its many charming and beautiful scenes, and the 
romantic interest of its curious old streets, the imagination involuntarily turned to the past; 
one lived in the past, and could not get away from mental pictures of bygone days constantly 


suggested by the old-fashioned architecture and the antiquated streets. Now, everything 
129 


130 THE NEW BRAZIL 


speaks the language of activity and energy, and the contemplation of the broad avenues 
and towering buildings makes one think rather of what is to be, than of what has been. 


MONROE PALACE, WHERE THE PAN-AMERICAN CONGRESS WAS HELD, RIO. 


The same influence has made itself felt in the people themselves. The enthusiasm, 
hopefulness, and expression of purpose and enterprise in the attitude and movements 
of the “Fluminense” to-day indicate that he is looking forward, and that he sees greater 
glory and prestige for his beloved capital in the future than he had dreamed of in the 
old days. : 

Rio de Janeiro, a city of nearly a million inhabitants, is a capital worthy of the largest 
and richest-country of South America. It is a metropolis framed in such ideal environs as 
to entitle it to be classed with the world’s most fashionable resorts for health and pleasure. 
When the visitor, on arriving in port, leaves his steamer at the dock, he finds himself 
facing the magnificent Avenida Central, a stately thoroughfare more than a mile long, 
beautified by shade trees, while, overlooking it on each side, are great buildings of solid 
construction and modern architecture, giving it the metropolitan appearance characteristic 
of leading thoroughfares in the largest cities of the world. That such a splendid exam- 
ple of national enterprise could be the result of eighteen months’ work seems absolutely 
incredible. And each of the handsome edifices, some of them covering an entire square, 
which form a solid front from the beginning of the Avenida Central to its junction with 
the Avenida Beira-Mar, represents the expenditure of from half a million to five million 
dollars gold. The new municipal theatre with a capacity for twenty thousand persons, is 
equal in spacious dimensions and splendid appearance to the Paris Opera House; the 
Archbishop’s Palace and the new national library are magnificent and stately structures; 
the latter, built under the direction and according to the plans of the present prefect of Rio, 


ibe Emre ERALGA Pr LAL 131 


General F. M. Souza Aguiar, is one the finest public buildings in America. The Caixa 
de Amortizagdo, or Treasury Building, commands especial attention by its imposing pro- 
portions and attractive style of architecture. Many lofty office buildings are eloquent 
in attesting the general business prosperity, notably those of the leading daily news- 
papers, represented by the fornal do Commercio, which occupies an immense seven-story 
building with a tower; the Jornal do Brazil, O Patz, and others. A variety of architecture 
prevents an appearance of monotony in the famous street, and distinguishes it in this 
respect from the usual business thoroughfare. The offices of the Santos Dock Company 
have massive doors of carved wood which suggest the entrance to a repository of classic 
lore rather than to a commercial establishment. Here also are located the Engineers’ Club, 
the Naval Club, and the Commercial Museum. 

The most conspicuous of the new buildings on the Avenida Central is the Monroe Palace, 
where the sessions of the Pan-American Congress were held in 1906. It is a reproduction 
of the Brazilian building at the St. Louis Exposition: the artistic design attracts universal 
admiration, and reflects great credit on the distinguished architect, General Souza Aguiar. 


ARRIVAL IN RIO OF MR. ROOT, SECRETARY OF STATE OF THE UNITED STATES. 


The name it bears is significant of the friendly relations which exist between Brazil and 
the United States. The Monroe Palace stands near the junction of the Avenida Central 


132 THE NEVE BRAZIL 


BARON DE RIO-BRANCO, OPENING THE THIRD PAN-AMERICAN CONGRESS AT RIO, JUNE 27. 1906. 


and the Avenida Beira-Mar, the angle of which is marked by a granite obelisk bearing the 
following commemorative inscription : 


“SENDO PRESIDENTE DA REPUBLICA 
SX St6 260 
DON FRANCISCO bE PAULA RODRIGUES ALVES, 
Ministro da Industria, Viacd4o e Obras Publicas, 
QuR Keo eon. 
Dr. LAURO SEVERIANO MULLER, 
Foi decretada, construida e inaugurada 
A 
AVENIDA CENTRAL, 
Executando os trabalhos 
A 
Commissao Constructora 
Tendo como Engenheiro Chefe 
O Dr. ANDRE GUSTAVO PAULO bE FRONTIN. 
XV NOVEMBRO MCII. XV NOVEMBRO MCYI.” 


oR Dien EOE AIS CARI AL 133 


On the remaining three sides of the column are inscriptions commemorating the decree, 
September 18, 1903; the initiation of the work, March 8, 1904; and the inauguration of the 
completed Avenida Central, November 15, 1905. 

When Mr. Root visited Rio he was charmed by its beautiful scenery and the hospitable 
spirit of its citizens, who greeted him with the most cordial demonstrations. The welcome he 
received on disembarking, and the v/vas which were heard on all sides, while he was being 
escorted by Baron de Rio-Branco, the Brazilian Foreign Minister, to the Palacete Abrantes,— 
which was placed at his disposal during his stay in Brazil,—won the heart of the American 
Statesman, who acknowledged, with smiling salutations, the evidences of geniality and good 
will. The Brazilian people entertained Mr. Root with magnificent hospitality, the Federal 
capital being the scene of brilliant and continuous festivities in his honor. 

In the transformation of the capital, the construction of the Avenida Central was only 
one feature of a vast system of improvements due to the genius of the former prefect, 
Dr. Pereira Passos, who accomplished wonderful reforms. The municipality of Rio, under 
his administration, built the splendid boulevard of Beira-Mar, which, beginning at the Lapa 
terminus of the Avenida Central, curves around the shore of the bay, along the Praia da 
Lapa, by the newly formed Praia do Russell, where part of the hill of the Gloria was cut 
away to afford space for the great driveway, and, passing the picturesque Praia do Flamengo, 
sweeps gracefully around the horseshoe curve of Botafogo to the furthest limit of that beauti- 
ful suburb. It is not an exaggeration to say that Avenida Beira-Mar is unsurpassed in 
picturesque beauty and variety by any driveway of equal length in the world. — It is an ideal 
promenade in an automobile, and one’can make the complete circuit of the city in a four 


A GLIMPSE OF AVENIDA BEIRA-MAR FROM THE PRAIA DA LAPA. 


134 THE NEM eb eA Zi 


hours’ spin at a fair rate of speed. And what a charming passefo! Six miles along the 
Beira-Mar esplanade, and then through the enchanting ravine that leads to the Gavea, across 


THE NEW AVENIDA CENTRAL, RIO DE JANEIRO. 


the hills to Tijuca, always on a good road, enjoying in a few short hours the varying aspects 
of the sheltered bay, with its islands and ships at anchor, the Atlantic in broad expanse, the 
bracing hills with their wealth of varying landscapes, and the thousand tints of sea and sky 
reflected in their horizon. 

When the ex-President of Argentina, General Julio Roca, visited Rio in 1907, he 
was entertained with sumptuous hospitality, among the fiestas arranged in his honor 
being a Venetian regatta in the bay of Botafogo. It was a superb spectacle. The Avenida 
Beira-Mar was illuminated throughout the whole length, and the Praia do Botafogo was a 
fairyland of light and color. The fiesta opened with a magnificent display of fireworks 
in imitation of a volcano in eruption; the regatta followed, a procession of hundreds of 
launches, yachts, and small boats in the bay, so fancifully decorated and illuminated as to 
produce an effect at once weird and enchanting. In the spectators’ pavilion, the beauty and 
fashion of Rio were assembled. From the distance was wafted on the clear night air the 
music of mandolins and guitars, mingling with songs and choruses. At intervals, bands 
of music played on board the barcas and launches, nine military bands taking part in the 


Wee Eee EDC AUSCALLIEAL 135 


programme. Seldom, if ever, has a more picturesque display been witnessed than the 
Festa Veneziana in Botafogo, where the natural romance of the surroundings lent poetry 
to a marvellously effective scene. 

Dr. Passos continued with indefatigable zeal and energy, the improvement of the 
capital, begun in the Avenida Central and in the extension of Beira-Mar. A dozen or more 
streets were widened and built up in accordance with the plans of the government, and the 
magnificent Avenida de Mangue was added to the many beautiful promenades of the city. 
The organization of a sanitary corps, the modernizing of the drainage system, and efficient 
cooperation in all the Federal government’s plans for the perfection of the hygiene and com- 
fort of the city were evidence of his zeal and activity in behalf of progress. In accordance 
with the plans of the former Minister of Interior, Dr. Gaspar, a hospital was founded for the 
treatment of tuberculosis, which is one of the most notable sanitary institutions in South 
America. An important factor in the establishment of this hospital was the unremitting 
labor and devotion of the Anti-Tuberculosis Leagues of Rio, Sao Paulo, Bahia, Pernambuco, 
and other cities, organized for the noble purpose of combating this terrible scourge. The 
League of Rio is composed of 
leading citizens, and its work 
is. facilitated by a subsidy from 
the Federal government and 
another from the municipality, 
secured through an extra tax on 
alcoholic. drinks and tobacco. 
Its efforts are directed toward 
the better sanitation and ventila- 
tion of the homes of the poor, 
and to a propaganda of hygienic 
education. The various hospital 
associations and charities are 
cooperating with the league in 
favorof healthandcomfort. The 
Department of Public Health, 
under the able direction of Dr. 
Oswaldo Cruz, has brought 
about great improvements in 
the hospitals of Sao Sebas- 
tiao and Paula Candido and 
in the lazaretto of Ilha Grande, AVENIDA CENTRAL, LOOKING TOWARD BEIRA-MAR. 
which are provided with the 
most modern appliances for disinfection and sanitation. The Strangers’ Hospital, chiefly 
supported by foreigners, has also introduced the latest hygienic methods in its management. 


136 THE NEW BRAZIL 


The Service of Hygiene maintains not only a disinfecting establishment in Botafogo, but a 
small fleet of about a dozen vessels in the harbor, each equipped with Clayton apparatus 
for the disinfection of vessels that arrive from 
ports of contagion. In addition to the complete 
eradication of yellow fever, the scourge of small- 
pox has been effectively combated by obligatory 
vaccination, which has been established not only 
in Rio but throughout the republic. The illustrious 
president of the National Academy of Medicine, 
Dr. A. de Azevedo Sodré, codperating with the 
movement toward better health conditions, has 
introduced many reforms in the régime of that 
venerable institution, which was founded seventy- 
eight years ago, during the reign of Dom Pedro I., 
and is one of the best equipped establishments 
in the world. The asylums, closely related to 
the hospitals in their beneficent purpose, have 
been greatly improved, the Insane Asylum of Rio 

having been completely reorganized in conformity 

Ses rate eats ea with the needs of the present day. In addition to 

the public institutions of this kind, there are about 
fifty private charitable associations, principally working in connection with the churches 
and maintaining religious hospitals and asylums. 

The largest hospital in South America, Santa Casa da Misericordia, was founded by the 
Sisters of Mercy in 1545; the building it now occupies was completed in 1840, having been 
thirty years under construction. It is a beautiful specimen of classic architecture, and has 
a capacity for the accommodation of one thousand five hundred patients. Within the past 
five years it has been completely reorganized and remodelled in accordance with the best 
modern methods, and in sanitation, hygiene, and medical treatment it ranks to-day among 
the best in the world. The sisterhood has in charge not only the general hospital and its 
annexes, but also an asylum for foundlings, a convent for orphans, a Pasteur institute, and 
a funeral directorate. A notable feature of the asylum for foundlings is the revolving 
Wheel, in which a cradle is so arranged, that when an infant is laid in it, the wheel turns 
round, carrying the little stranger inside, where it is sheltered and cared for until old enough 
to go out to service. The girls enter the convent of Santa Theresa, where they are educated. 
The cradle is said to be an effective preventative of infanticide. As social conditions advance 
and education progresses, recourse to this method of disposing of unwelcome offspring 
becomes rarer, recent years showing a marked diminution in the number of foundlings. 
Among other important charities maintained by private enterprise are the Real e Benemerita 
Sociedade Portugueza de Beneficencia, and the Real e Benemerita Caixa de Soccorros 


POE eNE ere DERALS CALI TAL 137 


D. Pedro V., both of which are, as the title indicates, Portuguese institutions. The Sociedade 
supports an excellent hospital, attended by a staff of able specialists. Numerous other 
Portuguese societies for the relief of the infirm and the poor exist in various sections, among 
them the Centro Benemerito D. Amelia Rainha de Portugal, and the Congregagdo dos Filhos 
do Trabalho D. Carlos I. Rei de Portugal, thus showing the affection which the subjects of 
Portugal, residing in Brazil, feel for their sovereigns. 

In all the charitable institutions of the capital, one of the important features has been 
the effort to improve social conditions through education, and the influence of this purpose 
is manifested not only in the amelioration of the unfortunate poor, but in a higher standard 
of instruction among all classes. The practical system by which, from the first day of 
entering school, girls are taught not only to read and write but to sew and to become 
expert In housekeeping, and boys are trained in mechanical practice, owes its origin to the 
charitable organizations of the city. In this method of instruction, the public schools of 
Brazil are far ahead of those of the United States, which are only beginning to adopt the 
system. A comparison between the statistics of 1896 and those of 1906, show. that 
the average attendance at the primary schools has more than doubled within that time, 


CORCOVADO, SEEN FROM AVENIDA BEIRA-MAR, IN BOTAFOGO. 


the last report giving an attendance of thirty-eight thousand pupils. In secondary, and 
particularly in technical instruction, the increased attendance also shows great advancement. 


138 THE, NEVOBRAZIL 


The Polytechnic School of Rio is one of the best educational institutions of its kind. 
Originally this school was connected with the Military Academy, which was founded during 


RUA URUGUAYANA, A RECENTLY TRANSFORMED THOROUGHFARE, 


the reign of King Dom Jodo VI., on the site of the present Polytechnic School in the 
Largo do Sao Francisco. In 1874 the separation of the military courses of study from those 
of the natural and physical sciences led to the removal of the former branch of instruction 
to the Praia Vermelha, where the Escola de Applicagao had been established years before. 
The Military Academy was then reorganized, its buildings enlarged, and the curriculum 
extended. The present buildings are large and well-equipped with gymnasium, infirmaries, 
and all necessary conveniences; the instruction is thorough and in accordance with the 
most modern military methods. 

When the Military Academy was detached from the institution in the Largo do Sao Fran- 
cisco, the original institution was reorganized under the name of Escola Polptechnica, and 
devoted to the higher instruction in natural, physical, and mathematical science, the Viscount 
de Rio-Branco taking charge as its first director. A general course, and special courses in 
physical and natural science, civil engineering, mines, and arts and manufactures, cover 
the subjects now treated in this college. The course in civil engineering receives particular 
attention, and its graduates are prepared to take their place among leaders of the profession 
anywhere in the world. Night classes, which have been organized in nine of the primary 


Phe NEW SPEDERAL CARITAL 139 


schools and in the technical schools, for the benefit of adults, are contributing materially to 
reduce the percentage of illiteracy. The blind are educated in the Benjamin Constant 
Institute, and there is also an Institute for Deaf Mutes. The Normal School occupies a 
handsome and spacious building facing the Praga da Republica, and ranks among the best 
in South America. The new Escola Rodrigues Alves, next to the President’s Palace in the 
Cattete, is a beautiful monument to the great Brazilian for whom it is named. 

While the social and educational advancement of Brazil is an evidence of the modern 
spirit of progress which to-day more than ever animates its people, there is a prevailing 
determination to abolish old systems which hamper the development of the city, and to 
introduce modern methods in every branch of the public service. New enterprises are con- 
stantly being inaugurated by public and private initiative. One of the greatest of these, 
the Rio de Janeiro Tramway, Light, and Power Company, incorporated in the year 1904 in 
Canada, with a capital of fifty million dollars, has undertaken to develop and utilize, for the 
purpose of electricity, the water power which is so abundant in the neighborhood of Rio. 
Two large water powers have been acquired, one on the Parahyba River, eighty miles from 
Rio, capable of producing one hundred thousand horse-power, and another on the Lages 
River, fifty miles from the capital, where forty thousand horse-power is being developed, 


PRAIA DA GLORIA, SHOWING STATUE OF VISCOUNT DE RIO-BRANCO. 


which can be increased to one hundred thousand when necessity demands. From the 
Lages River, temporary installation is supplied for the present electric lighting and power of 


140 THE NEW BRAZIL 


Rio. This whole river passes through a narrow gate, formed by massive granite rocks only 
three hundred and twenty feet wide, and this aperture has been dammed up, the river being 


MUNICIPAL THEATRE, RIO. 


forced into a lake fifteen miles long, by seven and a half miles wide, which, when the dam 
is completed will have an impounding capacity of two hundred and twenty-two million 
cubic metres. Lighting and power distribution in the city was inaugurated by the company 
in March, 1907. Before this could be done, two hundred and twenty miles of tunnels 
were built, through which the power and lighting wires are conducted. Within the next 
three years the Carris Urbanos and the Sado Christovao Street Railways, the only remaining 
horse-car lines of the city, will be transformed into electric systems, as well equipped 
as are at present those of the Jardim Botanico and the Carioca electric lines. New electric 
car lines are also being added to the railway service established from Rio to Tijuca and 
Corcovado. 

In view of the transformation already effected, and the improvements being made, one 
involuntarily wonders whether any of the old capital with its traditions will remain. There 
is so much in the historic city that it would be vandalism to destroy. The leaders of reform 
recognized this fact when they spared the Ouvidor, that charming little alley which has 
been the fashionable thoroughfare of Rio for a century or more. It remains to form a con- 
necting link between the new city, with its modern activity and energy, and the old capital, 
with the legacy of innumerable historical traditions. It is still, as it has always been, a popular 


Poe Pee PEDERALT CAPITAL 141 


resort for idlers, fashionable shoppers, club-men and politicians, occupying a conspicuous 
place as the centre of gossip, social, political andeven commercial. 

The passing of old Carioca marks a more than ordinarily interesting epoch in the city’s 
transformation. The “Fluminense” of the old school looks with regret upon the anni- 
hilation of his antiquated treasures, and even while recognizing the importance of the 
reform, finds it hard to forgive innovations which take the life and spirit out of some of his 
most cherished traditions. ‘ Fluminense,” the name applied to a native of Rio, is a survival 
of an error made by the earlier discoverers, who thought the bay of Rio was a river, and 
named it Rio de Janeiro, “River of January;” the word “Fluminense” signifies belonging to 
ariver. “Diario Fluminense,” and “Collegio Fluminense,” are instances of the popular use of 
the expression. A “Carioca” is a native of Rio born within a certain radius of Carioca Square 
and the fountain which supplies the famous water from the surrounding hills; and, as the 
origin of the London cockney’s title from Bow Bells is woven about with interesting stories, 
so there are traditions many and varied relating to the Carioca; the Indians ascribed mar- 
vellous powers to this water, and attributed to it the gift of poetry and oratory, with which 
it inspired those who drank of it, just as the “Castalian fount” of the Greek supplied the 
divine gifts of the Muses. The “Carioca” 
of to-day, the representative of a nation of 
orators, exemplifies the appropriateness of 
this tradition. 

The Brazilian loves his Rio for its'asso- 
ciations and traditions. To him, every foot 
of ground tells a story of hard-fought battles 
in the cause of freedom and victories won 
often against terrible opposition. He loves 
the parks and plazas because they com- 
memorate glorious events in the annals of 
his country; he points with pride to the 
monuments that immortalize the bravery of 
the nation’s heroes; every street and alley 
is dear to him, recalling by its name or asso- 
ciations some decisive struggle in the cause 
of liberty; even the majestic encircling hills 
and the sun-kissed islands of the bay appeal 
to him rather for the memory of heroic deeds 
wrought in their midst and of great men 
they have sheltered than for their far-famed GENERAL F. M. DE SOUZA AGUIAR, PREFECT OF RIO. 
beauty; Sao Christovao, Santa Theresa, Tijuca, 
are names of deeper significance for the historical incidents that belong to them than 
for their picturesqueness; Paqueta claims more honor as the last residence of the “Father 


142 THE NEW BRAZIL 


of Brazilian independence” than as the most beautiful island in the finest harbor of the 
world. Every feature of the old city bears the impress of epoch-making; in passing along 
its streets, visiting the places of interest, and 
listening to its history, one is reading the 
heart of the nation. For nearly two centuries, 
as the chief seat of government, it has been 
the central scene in all the great political 
Struggles, pulsating with excitement in every 
crisis, gay and brilliant with the rejoicings 
of every victory, vitally identified with the 
national life in all the changes through which 
the country has passed. It still shows sur- 
viving features of the colonial days, when 
neither vast wealth nor great leisure permitted 
luxurious living, though much was accom- 
plished of an important and lasting character; among other things, the construction of the 
famous Carioca aqueduct, a monument of architectural grandeur, which is as solid to-day as 
when first built, one hundred and fifty years ago; the Sao Sebastiado church, built in 1567, in 
honor of the city’s patron saint, now the oldest church in Brazil, within whose walls rest 
the ashes of the city’s founder, Estacio de S4; and the church of Candelaria, built in 1600, 
rebuilt in 1775, and completely remodelled at the close of the last [nineteenth] century, a 
magnificent edifice to-day. Evidences still exist of the transformation that followed the 
arrival of the royal court, the elevation of an insignificant province to a powerful kingdom, 
and the change from a provincial capital to the chief seat of royalty, with all the pomp, 
splendor, and gayety attending the presence of a rich and extravagant court; many of the 
city’s finest institutions, theatres, churches, schools, and parks, date from this period, to 
which belongs the origin of the National Museum, the National Library, the Military Academy, 
the celebrated Botanical Gardens; the Church of Sacramento, for which, as the story goes, 
part of the necessary funds were secured by King Jodo’s chief cook, who offered delicious 
stews in return for donations; the old theatre, which was burned as a judgment upon the 
builder, who stole the stones intended for the construction of a cathedral; also a number of 
hospitals, asylums, and other charities. The dramatic incidents connected with the establish- 
ment of the empire are perpetuated in the street names of “Ypiranga,” “ Sete de Setembro,” 
and the “Praga d’Acclamagdo”’ [recently changed to Praga da Republica], respectively com- 
memorating the place where the independence of Brazil had its birth, the date of that event, 
and the formal acclamation of Dom Pedro I. as emperor; an equestrian statue of Dom Pedro 
in the Praga Constituigéo [now Praca Tiradentes] represents him in the act of shouting the 
watchword ‘Independencia ou Morte!” after having read the arbitrary message of the 
Cortes at Lisbon. The statue of the great liberator, José Bonifacio de Andrada, in the Praca 
Sado Francisco de Paula, also recalls that eventful period. The Conservatory of Music, the 


AVENIDA OF PALMS ON THE CANAL DO MANGUE. 


ROE MNEMSEEDERAL CAL] LAL 143 


Astronomical Observatory, the Naval Academy, and many colleges were established during 
the time of the second emperor, though all these institutions have been reorganized and 
improved within recent years. The hand- 
some monument to the Duke de Caxias, 
which adorns the public garden named in 
honor of that hero, commemorates his 
splendid generalship in the Paraguayan war. 
The “Rua Riachuelo” preserves the name 
of the most glorious battle of the war. And 
the “Rua Voluntarios da Patria,” one of the 
principal streets of Botafogo, is a lasting re- 
minder of the brave company of the “ coun- 
try’s volunteers”: who won the laurels of 
military glory for Brazil against the dictator 
Lopez. The most important point of interest 
from its relation to the events of the last 
revolution is the Praga da Republica, the 
chief theatre of action on that memorable . Wa BUR BALE. 

day which witnessed a few bold strokes so 

well directed that their aim accomplished the downfall of one government and the successful 
proclamation of another within twenty-four hours,—a record for which the world offers 
no parallel. 

The history of the city of Rio, or, to give its full name, Sao Sebastiao do Rio de Janeiro, 
dates from 1566, when Estacio de Sa, nephew of the governor-general of Brazil at that time, 
effected a landing with a few colonists at a place near the Sugar-Loaf Mountain and fortified 
a small settlement which he called Villa Velha [‘“‘Old Town” ]. The next year, the governor- 
general transferred the town to the present site, and gave it the name of Sao Sebastido, in 
honor of the King of Portugal. He erected a citadel, or castfello, on the hill now called Morro 
do Castello, and placed there a commemorative tablet on which was carved the royal arms 
of Portugal. The first church of S40 Sebastiao was built beside this stone, which still remains 
as a relic of the city’s foundation. The older section of the city is constructed according to 
Portuguese ideas of architecture, in narrow streets, not broad enough for vehicles to pass 
each other; but this section is so rapidly disappearing that now only a few of these narrow 
thoroughfares remain. It is possible to go to almost any part of the city in a street-car, or 
“bond” as it is popularly called—a name given by the common people, who, having heard 
a great deal about “bonds” in connection with the inauguration of the street-car system in 
Rio, hailed the cars when they finally appeared, as “those American bonds,” and the name has 
clung to them ever since. Automobiles have been brought into use in Rio since the trans- 
formation of the city, but they have not quite usurped the place of the old-fashioned tilbury, 
which seems indispensable to the “Fluminense,” who hails one as he is leaving home 


vie THE NEW BRAZIL 


for his place of business in the morning, and while the covered two-wheeler whisks along 
at a lively rate, comfortably devotes his attention to the morning paper or his mail-bag, or 
to the beauties of the bay along the shore of which he passes on his way to “the city.” 
Only one passenger, who sits beside the driver, is permitted to ride in a tilbury ata time, 
and it is seldom that a lady makes use of this method of transit. An amusing episode 
which occurred in Rio during a sojourn there of two American ladies proves how jealously 
the tilbury fraternity guard their rights. The two ladies had arrived from Petropolis in a 
pouring rain and found all the carriages at the Rio landing already engaged; only a solitary 
tilbury stood at the curb. The driver was signalled, and agreed to take them to their hotel; 
and they, ignorant of the law, crowded into the rather circumscribed space which the vehicle 
afforded, and were conveyed to their destination. Imagine their dismay, on arriving at the 
hotel, to see the horse’s bridle seized by a policeman, the driver surrounded by angry and 
gesticulating jehus, and behind them an imposing line of tilburies that had been increasing 
in number all along the route from the landing, and soon filled the court of the hotel, their 
owners joining in the hubbub until peace was finally restored by the payment of two fares, 
or rather the hire of two tilburies. 

A visitor to Rio is first charmed by its picturesque beauty, then attracted by the modern 
appearance of the city generally, and finally interested in its history and the public institu- 
tions which have been established at various periods of its existence. The National Museum 
is daily visited by many strangers to Rio. It is one of the oldest institutions of the capital 
and was founded during the reign of King Dom Joao VI. It was the original intention to 
make it a museum of natural history, but the present collection includes all kinds of rare 
objects of scientific or historical interest. Foreign naturalists have contributed largely to its 
Stores, in addition to the valuable specimens furnished by Brazilian explorers. The museum 
is constantly increasing the number and value of its different departments, which afford an 
excellent opportunity for the student to become acquainted with the anthropological and 
archeological discoveries made within recent years in this part of the globe. In 1876, the 
National Museum began the publication of its archives, several volumes of which have 
already appeared. Among these papers are important contributions from the late Professor 
Hartt on the archeology and ethnology of the Amazons, from Drs. Lacerda and Peixoto on 
Indian crania, from Drs. Ladislau Netto and Ferreira Penna on Brazilian archeology, from 
Professor Orville A. Derby on geology, from Dr. Lacerda on the physiological action of snake- 
poisons, and from Professor Fritz Miller on insects and crustaceans. Dr. C. A. White, of the 
National Museum at Washington, has contributed a splendid monograph on the crustaceous 
invertebrate fossils, numbering over two hundred species, mostly new, collected by the 
geological commission, and Messrs. Derby and Rathbun have added monographs on the car- 
boniferous and Devonian fauna. Dr. Barbosa Rodrigues, the present director of the Botanical 
Gardens at Rio, has written many important works on his discoveries of new varieties of 
palms and orchids, of which he has made a specialty, as well as on his studies in ethnology 
in the fertile field of the Amazons. Among the curiosities at the museum, the Brazilian 


PHEeNEVeREDEKAL CAPITAL 145 


meteorite “Bendigo” has a very important place. It weighs nearly five tons, and was 
discovered first, in 1781, by a farmer, near Canudos, in the interior of Bahia, while looking 
for his cattle. After many unsuccessful attempts to move the mass, it was finally trans- 
ported to Rio, nearly a year being required for the work of conveying it to the port of Bahia 
for shipment. Professor Derby, an American, and a recognized authority on such matters, 
says it may be five or six centuries old. 

Next to the National Museum, the greatest scientific interest attaches to the National 
Library, which contains a splendid collection of more than four hundred thousand books, 
manuscripts, and other important documents, and has been a valued possession of the 
capital for nearly a hundred years, having been founded by King Jodo VI. soon after his 


CANAL DO MANGUE. 


arrival in Brazil, the nucleus consisting of a valuable collection of books from the Ajuda 
palace, in Lisbon. On the establishment of the empire, an enormous indemnity was 
demanded by the Portuguese government for the Ajuda books, which was afterward paid. 
Additions from time to time have brought the library up to its present standard, prominent 
among the contributions being the library of Dom José Bonifacio de Andrada._ The library 
collection has been removed to the new building, which is one of the handsomest edifices 
on the Avenida Central. 

The Casa da Moeda (mint) of Rio is another institution of particular interest and impor- 
tance. In addition to the coinage of money, the revenue and postage stamps are printed 
here. Its numismatic collection is unique and valuable. The government printing-office, or 


146 THE NEW BRAZIL 


“Typographia Nacional,” occupies one of the handsomest buildings in the city. It was three 
years under construction, and cost half a million dollarsin gold. The architecture is attractive 
and appropriate, and the ornamentation harmonizes with the purposes of the establishment, 
the facade having statues of Gutenberg, Faust, Schoeffer; and Coster. The offices, com- 
posing-rooms, press-rooms, and other departments are spacious and conveniently arranged, 
having all modern requirements, including machinery for type-setting, stereotyping, and 
lithographing. On the upper floor are large halls for exhibitions and lectures. The post- 
office and the stock-exchange on the Rua Primeiro do Marco are handsome buildings, and 
were the forerunners of the present modern style of architecture which is everywhere 
Seen in the new Rio. 

The municipality of Rio is governed by a Prefect, who is appointed by a decree of the 
President of the Republic. The present Prefect, General F. M. de Souza Aguiar, succeeded 
Dr. Pereira Passos, taking up, with the energy and ability for which he is eminently distin- 
guished, the unfinished work of beautifying and improving the city; he is adding many new 
reforms as the progress of the capital makes it necessary. Codperating with the Prefect are 
six Directorates: the Directorate of Patrimony has charge of the properties of the munici- 
pality, Supervising purchases and sales, leases, donations, and similar matters; the Directorate 
of Public Works and Transportation attends to the public improvements, the construction and 
repair of buildings, and everything relating to the lighting, water works, railways, and street- 
cars of the city; the Directorate of Hygiene and Public Assistance, as the name indicates, 
superintends sanitary work and the hospital and asylum organizations; the Directorate of 
Instruction has charge of municipal schools, organizing and regulating these establishments; 
the Directorate of Finance and the Directorate of Police direct the affairs of these depart- 
ments. There are also Inspectors of Gardens, Arborization, etc., whose duty it is to keep in 
order the beautiful pragas and boulevards of the city; and Superintendents of Street-Cleaning, 
who Keep the thoroughfares free from rubbish and. provide for the speedy removal of any 
obstacles to traffic. 

The Minister of Justice is the General Superintendent of the Police of the Federal 
District, though the government appoints also a Chief of Police, who has the codperation 
of three auxiliary delegates. In addition to these officials the police service has an army of 
assistants for the preservation of public safety. The policing of the city is executed by a 
Military Brigade, a Civil Guard anda corps of agents of the Public Safety. The Correctional 
School, Correctional Colony, and similar institutions are under the jurisdiction of the Police 
Department. The Correctional School is an admirable institution, having as its object the 
reclaiming of children over nine and under fourteen years of age, either orphans who 
are in danger of becoming bad citizens through lack of parental restraint and training, or 
children of parents who do not exercise proper authority over them. The school occupies 
a spacious building in Sao Christovao Street, and has two dependencies in the suburbs, 
with suitable grounds, for boys and girls respectively. The girl inmates are taught domestic 
duties, and the boys, outdoor work, such as gardening, etc. The Correctional Colony is 


Pore Eee DER ALD GAP TAL 147 


designed to meet the difficulty of dealing with that class comprising habitual drunkards, 
gamesters, vagrants, and thieves, so well-known in all cities, and who constitute a menace 
to the peace and well-being of the 
community. The Colony is located 
on Grand Island, outside of the bay, 
occupying the plantation known as 
Dois Rios, which is rich in coffee 
trees. The inmates of the Colony 
are put to work in the coffee fields or 
in some of the numerous establish- 
ments connected with this industry 
on the island. 

The Fire Department of Rio is 
one of the most important institu- 
tions for the protection of public and 
private property. It is composed of a POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL. 
central station and six sub-stations, 
one of which is located on the shore of the bay and has two large steamboats fitted up for 
the purpose of extinguishing fires on board of any ships in the harbor. Alarm boxes are 
placed at the street corners, and the service is So well arranged that only twenty seconds 
are required to get the engines, wagons, etc., out of the fire-hall. At the central station, 
which is a handsome modern building, are manufacturing and repair shops for the use of 
the department, all the work being done by the firemen, six hundred in number. The 
Prefect, General F. M. de Souza Aguiar, was for six years the Chief of the Fire Department, 
and during this time introduced many improvements. 

According to the last census the population of Rio is eight hundred and eleven thousand 
two hundred and sixty-five, and it is rapidly increasing, as a consequence of the healthful 
conditions which prevail and the many advantages it offers as a desirable place of residence. 
The climate is delightful, there is no longer a terror for the foreigner in the idea, always 
exaggerated, that Rio was the favorite home of yellow fever and other contagious diseases. 
It is the most picturesque capital of the world and an ideal resort, with charming social life 
and everything that contributes to an enjoyable existence. The Cassino Fluminense, the 
principal social club of the capital, has among its members the most distinguished men 
of Brazil, and the functions given under its patronage are occasions of the highest social 
importance. All distinguished visitors to Brazil are entertained by this club. The foreigners 
of Rio, including Portuguese, English, American, French, German, and Italian residents, also 
have their clubs. The Rio Yacht Club, and several boating clubs, entertain lavishly with 
the most charming fiestas, and there is no season of the year when Rio is not a desir- 
able place of residence. The diplomatic corps, who have had their official residence in 
Petropolis ever since the time of the empire, when an epidemic of yellow fever in Rio 


148 THE NEW BRAZIL 


led them to petition their governments for this privilege, appreciate the many advantages 
which Rio now offers, since yellow fever no longer exists as a menace to health, and a 
movement is on foot to have the official residence removed again to the Federal capital. 
The favorite site for residences is now the Beira-Mar, and many palatial homes are situated 
on this magnificent boulevard overlooking the bay, particularly along the driveway through 
the picturesque quarter of Botafogo. With its many charming scenes and the glory of its 
tropical skies, with its handsome palacetes, the luxuriance of its gardens, the attractiveness 
of its avenues and their modern edifices, Rio is the ideal City Beautiful of the New World. 


PRACA DA GLORIA. 


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THE LIBRARY 
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UVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 


‘AULSAATAS WOU ‘OGVAODYOO 


CHAPTER VIII 


THE SUBURBS OF RIO AND THE BOTANICAL GARDEN 


DR. JOSE BARBOSA RODRIGUES, 
DIRECTOR OF THE BOTANICAL GARDEN. 


twin peaks, “ Dois Irmdos,” close to the sea. 


O describe the beautiful suburbs of Rio, 
one should take a leaf from an Oriental 
poem, rich in the glowing phrases of the 
Eastern imagination; for only superlatives 
are adequate to express the picturesque 
charm, romantic and captivating, that lies in 
the hills and valleys, islands, inlets, and 
waterfalls of the fascinating environs of the 
capital. The landscape presents a thousand 
varied aspects, and whether viewed from 
the bay or from the mountains the scene is 
one of enchantment. 

Rome and Byzantium boast of their 
seven hills, but Rio has seven times as many 
noble summits on watchful guard around her. 
Little imagination is evoked in picturing as 
her “perpetual defenders” these lofty peaks 
that surround her in towering majesty. The 
well-named “hunchback,” Corcovado, stands 
close to the city, a famous monster. Vying 
with each other in grenadier service are the 
The weather-beaten Gavea looks as if it had 


faced the elements in storm and calm for untold ages. Santa Theresa, like a guardian angel, 
bends close to the heart of the city, taking its children in her sheltering arms when mid- 
summer comes, fanning them with her breeze-laden trees and bathing them in her cooling 
streams: very comforting and refreshing are the ministrations of Good Santa Theresa. And 
Tijuca! In strong contrast to the uncompromising outlines of the Gavea, sweeps the graceful 


151 


52 THE NEW BRAZIL 


contour of this suburban giant, with a saucy parrot’s beak, “Bico do Papagaio,” peeping 
over one shoulder, and a whole Brobdingnagian retinue in attendance. With head high among 
the clouds, the splendid colossus appears inaccessible; but in the summer season there is no 
better friend of Rio than this haughty aristocrat, gorgeously arrayed in rich tropical foliage, 
sparkling with the jewels that flash from innumerable waterfalls; sometimes with darkened 
brow frowning in sullen gloom as if under a terrible threat of the storm-king’s thunder, 
and again smiling frank and bold in the face of the sunshine. The Sugar-Loaf, “Pao de 
Assucar,” guarding one side of the narrow entrance to the bay, offers an zesthetic nibble to 
the imagination and a splendid promise of the feast that lies within the harbor’s portals. 

With the charm of her beautiful environment, Rio possesses unrivalled attractions as 
a most delightful place of residence. Electric street-car systems make the remote suburbs 
easily accessible, and even during the oppressive season of the year a half hour’s ride will 
take the resident into an atmosphere of delicious coolness. From the Largo Carioca, an 
inclined railway connects with Santa Theresa, the route offering one of the most picturesque 
views imaginable; the summit presents a succession of terraces, with villas looking invit- 
ingly out among the trees. The old Carioca aqueduct runs along the side of the road, a 
connecting link between modern and medizval industry. In the distance may be seen 
Tijuca and the Tingua Mountains. The old Santa Theresa convent, which occupies the 
eastern side of Santa Theresa Mountain and at first belonged to an order of Carmelite nuns, 
was founded in 1742, though it was not until 1781 that the recluses were permitted to take 
the veil of Santa Theresa, and then only twenty-one were admitted. During the early 
days, it was quite customary for husbands, before leaving the city on a military expedition, 
to place their wives in this convent for safe-keeping. 

There are two routes to the summit of Corcovado; one is by way of Santa Theresa, 
and Paineiras, and the other direct from the city, by a railway of the Riggenbach system, 
which goes to the top of the peak. The direct road from the Cosme Velho station, in 
Larangeiras, to the summit of Corcovado is about two miles and a half long, and the actual 
ascent is two thousand and eighty feet, or about one in six. Corcovado is the great show- 
place of Brazil, and it is doubtful if anywhere in the world Nature offers a grander treat. 
From the point where the train leaves the station at its base there is a constant feast of 
the beautiful; and when the enraptured traveller reaches the little pavilion that crowns the 
mountain’s summit, he is speechless before the lavish splendor of this garden of the gods. 
No language is adequate to describe the view, one of thrilling charm, so impressive that it 
remains forever engraven on the memory of the beholder. The hills are grouped around 
in solemn grandeur; the picturesque islands appear like pretty naiads decked for a holiday; 
the blue skies with their floating white clouds are mirrored in the clear depths of the 
bay; the city lies just below, radiant in the sunshine. 

. The suburb of Tijuca is about six miles from the business centre of the city, with 
which it is connected by a street railway. Many people of Rio have their summer homes 
at Tijuca, and it is a desirable residence locality all the year round. A fine view is obtained 


Popes BUKD SSO men OmaNOVTHE BOTANICAL GARDEN 153 


from various points along the road which leads to the summit of this peak, three thousand 
three hundred and sixty-two feet above sea level, the highest point in the immediate vicinity 
of the capital. Very beautiful features of the scenery are the sylvan pathways, having all 
the charm of the forest, and leaping cascades that dazzle the eyes as they splash over the 
rocks in sun-kissed showers. With the recent transformation of the Federal Capital, many 
improvements have been made in the suburban attractions, and Sumaré is one of the 
newest acquisitions to the picturesque view points from which the city and harbor are seen 
to the best advantage. In the vicinity of the Gavea, at the summit of the pass that separates 


THE SUMMIT OF CORCOVADO. 


it from Corcovado, is the famous “Chinese view” (so called because the road from that 
point down to the Botanical Garden was built by Chinese labor), from which a superb 
picture of the ocean is seen, and the “praia,” or beach, of Botafogo; the road runs through 
a bit of virgin forest, and gives charming glimpses of scenery along its course. 

The Gavea and Copacabana are reached by street-cars on what is known as the 
Botanical Garden line, the oldest system of street railways in South America, constructed 
and opened to traffic, in 1868, by an American company. ‘“Gavea”’ signifies a topsail, and 
from its sail-like shape the huge mass takes its name, which is also applied to the suburb 
at its foot, one of the most popular of the capital, and a favorite resort on holidays. 


154 THE NEW BRAZIL 


Besides the attractions of her neighboring hills, Rio has, in the beautiful islands that 

dot the harbor, possessions of the greatest charm and interest. Not only are many of 
them desirable places of residence for the 
beauty of their scenery, but their salubrious 
climate gives them even a higher value. 
The most famous of these, both for its 
‘picturesqueness and the delicious purity of 
its atmosphere, is the island of Paqueta, the 
chosen health resort of many invalids from 
the capital, and for several years, from 1832 
to 1838, the home of the great Brazilian 
statesman, Dom José Bonifacio de Andrada. 
A handsome service of porcelain, made from 
the kaolin of this island, was presented to 
King Dom Joao VI., in 1815, during the 
residence of the Portuguese court in Brazil. 
Paqueta is the second largest of all the 
islands in the bay, Governador having first 
place in this respect. “Ilha do Governador,” 
or Governor’s Island, is about fifty miles in 
circumference, and derives special impor- 
tance as the site of large brick and tile fac- 
tories, and because of the location here of 
the Sailors’ Hospital. During the residence 
SCENE EN ROUTE TO CORCOVADO. of the Portuguese court in Brazil, a large 
portion of the island was reserved for the 

royal hunting-grounds. Ilha das Cobras, also called Madeira in the early days when it 
supplied the wood for building the city of Rio de Janeiro, lies at that point of the bay 
close to the commercial centre of the city. It was fortified in colonial days, and in its 
prison have been incarcerated many of the notable men of Brazilian history, among others, 
the leaders of the republican revolt in 1789, including “Tiradentes.” Between the islands 
Governador and Cobras lies the Bom Jesus, where King Dom Jodo VI. delighted to spend 
a part of each year during his stay in Brazil, and where the fiesta of Sao Francisco de 
Assis was annually celebrated at his expense. The magnificent ceremony attending the 
occasion of the birth of the king’s first granddaughter, Donna Maria da Gloria, afterward 
Queen Maria II. of Portugal, which was performed on this island, was one of the important 
events of his reign. In the chapel of a military museum on the island rest the remains 
of General Osorio, the great leader of the Brazilian army in the Paraguayan war. The 
total number of islands in the bay is estimated at nearly a hundred. The contour of 
the bay is marked by picturesque inlets and peninsulas; just outside of the harbor, 


Popes RBSeO sido. ANOS HE BOTANICAL GARDEN 155 


Copacabana juts into the sea, forming one of the most delightful resorts, famous for its 
cool sea breeze and its splendid beach. A picturesque little chapel is built on a small 
knoll looking out over the sea. Ipanema and Leme also overlook the sea. Near Copa- 
cabana is the Lake Rodrigo de Freitas, which is separated from the ocean only by a 
narrow strip of land, a mere sandbank over which the water sometimes cuts a passage. 
Along the street which follows the shore of the lake are some interesting old country- 
houses and many handsome modern villas. The view from this point is very attractive, 
the Gavea, Tijuca, Dois Irmaos, and the famous Avenue of Palms in the Botanical Garden 
being in plain view. 

The Botanical Garden occupies a beautiful site on the border of the Lake Rodrigo de 
Freitas. The spacious grounds cover an area of two thousand acres, extending to the 
base of the frowning Gavea and looking up to the near peaks of Corcovado and Dios 
Irmaos. The main entrance, erected in 1893, is a handsome gateway ornamented on 
each side with splendid specimens of the //ichia and the carrapeteira, and opening to 
the Garden through a vista of surpassing loveliness. An ancient portico, surmounted 


GRAND CASCADE OF TIJUCA. 


by the royal arms of Portugal, which belonged to the grounds when used for a powder- 
factory in colonial days, is still in an excellent state of preservation, and presents one of 


156 THE NEW BRAZIL 


the very attractive features of the Garden. A magnificent avenue of royal palms extends 
from the main entrance for a distance of nearly half a mile across the grounds, numbering 
one hundred and fifty trees of 
uniform height, and presenting 
the appearance of a grand colon- 
nade supporting a delicate arch 
of green nearly a hundred feet 
from the ground; an alley of 
palms crosses it at right angles, 
extending two thousand feet 
and numbering one hundred and 
forty-two trees of a uniform 
height of seventy-five feet. An 
artistic fountain ornaments the 
open space formed by the cross- 
ing of the two avenues.  Fol- 
lowing the pathway on the left 
of the entrance, one is suddenly 
surprised to find himself in a 
grove of bamboos, a delightful 
retreat, and so popular among 
visitors that it has received the 
name of the Bamboo Salon. 
This section of the Garden is 
devoted chiefly to the cultiva- 
A PATHWAY IN SYLVESTRE. tion of exotics, and choice speci- 
mens from every country are 
found here. The “traveller’s tree” of Madagascar, which secretes pure cold water that 
is extracted by plunging a knife into it, attracts much attention. Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, 
and other trees bearing products of the East Indian archipelago, grown from tiny seeds 
planted nearly a century ago, waft their heavy incense through the air. 

But though the specimens of foreign origin are of great interest, and often present 
rare individual types that attract attention and sometimes awaken the greatest enthusiasm, 
it is the trees and plants native to the country that offer most in the way of novelty 
or extravagance of size, form, and color. There is nothing in the whole foreign collec- 
tion to compare in beauty and marvellous dimensions with the Victoria Regia, a giant 
water lily, named by Lindley in honor of the English queen, though the natives of Matto 
Grosso, where it is found in the greatest abundance, call it the ‘“‘Uapé Japona.”’ Its leaves 
measure from ten to twenty feet in circumference, the upper surface being a dark, glossy 
green, while the under side is dark red in color; the flowers often grow as high as half 


TAPES OBURBSSOF*KIOVAND THE BOTANICAL GARDEN £57 


a foot above the water, measuring four feet around when full blown. A singular charac- 
teristic of this wonderful plant is seen in the unfolding of its petals, which, from a delicate 
rose tint at first opening, pass 
gradually, in the course of twenty- 
four hours, to a bright red hue. 
During the first day’s blooming 
they are very fragrant, but after 
two or three days they wither and 
fall to pieces. Nor is there any 
imported curiosity of the vegetable 
world more remarkable than the 
specimens brought from the region 
of the Amazon. ‘The rubber-tree, 
yielding a white, milk-like sap that 
coagulates almost immediately into 
amass of elastic rubber, is a native 
of Para and Amazonas, where the 
Indians for centuries have known 
how to make use of its water-tight 
properties. The Candelabra-tree 
is chiefly interesting for its appear- 
ance, which perfectly resembles 
an immense candelabra ready for 
illumination. The mighty pirijao 
is a pitiful example of the good 
friend betrayed, strangling slowly ae 
in the embrace of the cruel liana, TIJUCA FOREST. 

that clinging about the tall giant 

and receiving his protection and sustenance until grown vigorous from his imparted strength, 
still feeds on the friend that saved its useless life, squeezing his last drop of blood into 
greedy veins ;—“ parasite” well named is this vegetable vampire of the forest. The patrician 
orchid, independent of all sustenance that is of the earth earthy, blends its delicate velvet 
bloom with the dark hues of clambering vines and the gay colors of forest birds; the orchid 
is found nowhere else in the world in such profusion and variety as in Brazil, and on the 
trees growing in the Botanical Garden it is permitted to revel in its forest freedom undis- 
turbed by hunters. Little glimpses of the virgin forest are seen, too, where in some dense 
thicket the trees are twined and wreathed with garlands of vines, looped among the 
branches in great festoons that sweep the ground in a graceful curtain of green. The 
flaming crimson of the poncetta, the dark, glossy green of the orange-tree, the beautiful 
tree-fern, and the wonderful papaw-tree, with such valuable properties for medicinal 


158 THE NEW BRAZIL 


purposes, all charm the eye and appeal to the imagination. Taller than the royal palms are 
some of the great trees from the Amazon country, that reach a height of from one hun- 
dred and fifty to two hundred feet,—one hundred feet from the ground to the lowest 
branches,—and sometimes measuring fifty feet in circumference. 

One species of these trees is particularly noticeable for the buttress-like projection at 
its base, as if the “‘muscles” were stretched and strained by holding so heavy and tall a 
body in an erect position; and this is really the case: they are the roots of the sapling that 
have gradually raised themselves out of the ground as the increasing height of the tree 
needed their support. Sometimes the spaces between these “buttresses” are large enough 
to hold six people, and give the base of the tree a deeply fluted, pyramidal shape. 

The ‘“‘cow-tree,”’ so called because it produces a kind of milk, is also a native of the 
Amazon region, where it is considered a valuable commercial factor; too strong for drinking 
purposes, the milk is very quickly converted into glue after being exposed to the air, and 
makes a useful cement; while the bark after being treated by a certain process produces 
an excellent red dye for cloth. A cow-tree making red rags does seem an insult to bovine 
traditions! 

Aside from the miscellaneous collection of trees and plants gathered from all sources, 
the “Botanical Garden at Rio contains nearly three thousand specimens regularly classified. 


HOTEL INTERNACIONAL AT SANTA THERESA, IN THE SUBURBS OF RIO. 


The visitor can be provided with a catalogue, if desired, and by this means may learn 
everything needful with regard to any particular species or variety that appears on the 


PabeSOBURBSSOF RIO“ AND THE BOTANICAL GARDEN 159 


published list. There is a library in connection with the institution, also a museum, a 
national herbarium, an aquarium, a hot-house, and other accessories. The present director 


VISTAS AT MSV EVES DRE: 


of the Garden is Dr. J. Barbosa Rodrigues, a scientist of international fame and a writer on 
scientific subjects, whose works are regarded as standard authority by eminent naturalists 
and ethnologists, and who is a member of the principal scientific societies of the world, 
including the royal botanical societies of Edinburgh, Vienna, and Marseilles, the Royal 
Anthropological and Ethnological Society of Florence, the Royal Academy of Science in 
Lisbon, the Society of Naturalists in Freiburg, the Geographical Society in Paris, and every 
important scientific society in Brazil. Dr. Barbosa has discovered and classified one hundred 
and thirty-four different species of palms, and his researches in the Amazon country have 
brought results to the scientific world of the highest value. Shortly after he assumed the 
management of the Botanical Garden, in 1890, the institution was completely reorganized, 
and under his direction it has been rearranged according to a regular system of classification, 
while the area under cultivation has been very much extended and the number of rare 
specimens greatly increased. 

The Botanical Garden was founded a century ago. Soon after his arrival in Brazil, 
King Dom Jodo VI., at that time regent, issued a decree, June 13, 1808, in which he 


160 THEENEV BRAZIL 


commanded that the necessary land be prepared for a Jardim de Acclimacdo, designed to 
introduce into Brazil the culture of East Indian species. By a decree of October 11th in the 
same year, a director was appointed to take charge of the new enterprise, and it was named 
the Real Horto. An interesting story is related in connection with the first contribution 
made to this garden. The frigate Princega do Brazil having been wrecked just at this 
time off the coast of Goa, her officers, of whom the chief was Luiz de Abreu Vieira e Silva, 
embarked on a small brig, the Conceicao, intending to make the Cape of Good Hope, with 
the ultimate object of reaching Brazil. Before arriving at their destination, they were taken 
prisoners by the French and sent to the Isle de France. Here, in the garden Gabrielle, 
was a valuable botanical collection, introduced by Poivre and Menouvilles; Luiz de Abreu, 
who had successfully arranged a plan of escape, managed, with the aid of friends, to 
secure a number of fine specimens, which, after many dangers and sacrifices, he trans- 
ported to Rio, offering them as a gift to the Regent Dom Joao, who ordered them to be 
planted in the Real Horto. Most important among the varieties of this collection was the 
seed of the royal palm. With elaborate ceremony the Regent planted the first royal 


STREET LEADING TO THE BOTANICAL GARDEN. 


palm tree in Brazil, from the seed of which originated all the trees of this species that 
now grow in Brazilian parks and gardens. This tree is still a conspicuous feature of the 


Pipes UbURDStOherniO”AND- THE BOTANICAL GARDEN 161 


Garden, a tall, slender shaft one hundred and twenty-five feet high, with a pretty tuft of 
green capping its summit. 

In 1812, the first experiment was made in raising tea, the seeds having been brought 
into the country by Captain Joaquim Epiphanio de Vasconcellos, of the ship Vulcano. A 
tea plantation was started on a large scale, 
Dom Joao introducing a Chinese colony to 
teach the proper cultivation of this product. 
When Brazil was made a kingdom, the Real 
Horto was renamed the Real Jardim Botanico, 
and annexed to the National Museum, under 
the administration of which it remained until 
1822, when it was transferred to the Depart- 
ment of the Interior and afterward to the 
“Ministerio do Imperio.” In 1860, it passed 
into the hands of the “Instituto Fluminense 
de Agricultura.” The decree instituting the 
Real Jardim Botanico announced its adminis- 
tration to be a charge upon the royal treas- 
ury. At the same time, in order to extend 
the work of acclimatization, affiliated gar- 
dens were established in Pernambuco, Bahia, 
Minas Geraes, and Sado Paulo, the direction 
of the garden in Sao Paulo being given to 
Dr. Joao Baptista Badaré, a celebrated bota- SCENE IN THE BOTANICAL GARDEN. 
nist of Geneva, who had made scientific 
studies and excursions in Lombardy, Sardinia, and Mont Cenis. The Emperor Dom Pedro I. 
continued the work so admirably begun by his father, and appointed as the first botanical 
director of the Garden Friar Leandro do Sacramento, a learned botanist of international 
repute, who made a complete catalogue of the plants, and in other ways systematized 
and improved the methods of the institution. Such careful attention was given to the 
cultivation of tea, that for a time the Jardim Botanico furnished all the tea that was used in 
the city of Rio de Janeiro. He extended the area of the Garden under cultivation, filled 
up the hollow places of the ground, fashioned the beautiful. lake so attractive to visitors 
to-day, also the cascades; laid out the broad avenues and embowered alleys, constructed 
artificial mounds and grottoes; distributed plants and seeds to the gardens of Para, Pernam- 
buco, and Bahia, and exchanged with the Botanical Garden of Cambridge, England, several 
important specimens. A handsome monument, erected in memory of this great man, 
occupies a prominent place in the garden. When the Botanical Garden was placed in 
charge of the Agricultural Society, in 1860, efforts were immediately directed toward enlarg- 
ing the scope of the institution, and Dr. Karl Glasl, professor of agriculture in Vienna, Austria, 


162 THESNEW BRAZIL 


was invited to direct a school of agriculture and a normal fazenda to be founded in con- 
nection with it, the Fazenda do Macaco in the vicinity being appropriated for the latter 
purpose. A chemical laboratory was also established, and a magazine, the Revista Agricola, 
was published by the Agricultural Society. 

The library of the Botanical Garden is enriched from year to year by the acquisition of 
valuable works on botany and horticulture, many of them being contributed by Dr. Barbosa 
Rodrigues, whose indefatigable studies of the flora of his country has already been noticed. 
Pamphlets relating to the culture and care of plants are scattered throughout the country, 
and, during the year 1906, not only were large quantities of seeds sent out to the agricul- 
tural communities, but thousands of fruit trees, shade trees, and ornamental plants were 
distributed by the administration. One hundred thousand people visit the Botanical 
Garden annually. 


THE BAMBOOS, BOTANICAL GARDEN. 


ome 


UNIVERSITY | 


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CHAPTER IX 


MUSIC, ART, AND LITERATURE 


STATUE OF JOSE BONIFACIO DE ANDRADA. 


RAZIL has reason to be proud of her 
contribution to the sum of intellectual 
accomplishment in the western hemisphere, 
Which has produced no greater composer 
than Carlos Gomes, no greater sculptor than 
Rodolpho Bernardelli, no greater dramatist 
than José Alencar. None of the American 
poets have sung sweeter songs to softer 
music than the gifted but unfortunate Gon- 
calves Dias. Whether in music, art, or liter- 
ature, Brazil is equally prepared to establish 
her right to an honorable position. Music is 
a passion with the Brazilians, who are gifted 
with exceptional talent in musical composi- 
tion and its interpretation. They are particu- 
larly devoted to the Italian masters. The 
librettos of the operas of Carlos Gomes are 
in Italian, and Italian opera furnishes the 


favorite subjects in all the theatres throughout the country. Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, 
Bahia, Pernambuco, Para, and Mandos have grand-opera houses visited every season by 


noted European artists. 


The first great musical composer on the American continent, Carlos Gomes, the creator 
of the Brazilian opera, achieved a distinction among the living masters of musical composi- 
tion sufficient to place his name in the same rank as Rossini, Verdi, Meyerbeer, Bellini, and 
Donizetti. The story of his life is similar to the record of many men of genius who have 
earned the laurels of fame at the cost of much privation and sacrifice. A Brazilian, as were 
his ancestors for several generations, the distinguished composer was a Paulista by birth, his 


165 


166 LAHESNEW SBA LIL 


native city being Campinas. He was born in 1839, and at a very early age gave evidence 
of wonderful genius, which was fostered and encouraged by his father, a musician. and 
composer. Before reaching fifteen years of age, he was a favorite in the musical entertain- 
ments of his native town, where his excellent interpretation of the best composers.and his 
splendid soprano voice won enthusiastic praises. It is said that the inspiration to compose 
music came to him upon seeing, for the first time, the opera // Trovatore. As soon as an 
opportunity presented itself, he entered the Musical Conservatory at Rio, where he became 
an indefatigable student. At the age of twenty, he composed the music for a college song 
written by one of the students of the University of Sao Paulo, Senhor Bittencourt Sampaio, 
which has been popular ever since; he also wrote several modinhas that are still sung 
everywhere in Brazil. In 1867, at La Scala in Milan, he gave to the world his masterpiece, 
the grand opera O Guarany, taken from Alencar’s celebrated romance of the same name, 
which presents a story of the Indians of Brazil, that, for thrilling interest, compares favor- 
ably with Verdi’s Aida. So great was the fame of the young composer in the years that 
followed the appearance of his chef-d’ceuvre, that some of his operas took precedence in 
popular favor for a time over those of the greatest living masters in Europe. His Fosca was 
performed fifteen times during the grand-opera season of 1872 at Milan, whereas Verdi's 
Aida was presented on but six occasions; his Salvator Rosa and Maria Tudor have been 
counted among the greatest successes in Italian opera. He was the composer of the 
triumphal hymn for the United States Centennial Exposition. Though he may be said to 
follow the Italian school, there is a certain flavor of western freshness and novelty in his 
treatment that does not belong to the European masters. Returning to his native land, after 
triumphs that had made him famous throughout two continents, Carlos Gomes took charge 
of the Musical Conservatory of Para, where he died in 1898. 

Brazil, however, had produced, nearly a century before the birth of Carlos Gomes, a 
musical genius in the person of José Mauricio Nunes Garcia. He was first brought into 
prominence after the arrival of King Dom Jodo VI. in Brazil. In the royal retinue was the 
musician and composer, Marcos Portugal, author of the composition known in all lands as 
the Portuguese Hymn. This distinguished celebrity came as royal chapel-master to the 
king, who was very fond of music, and much given to the celebration of pompous religious 
ceremonies, and it was through the maestro’s influence that the young Brazilian was first 
presented to the king, who immediately recognized his wonderful gift. From the accounts 
of his biographers, José Mauricio was a self-educated musician and composer, having enjoyed 
few, if any, of the advantages of instruction. He was too poor to provide himself with a 
harpsichord, and it is said that when giving lessons, by which he earned.a livelihood, he 
was at first obliged to accompany the solfeggios with a banjo arranged with metallic 
strings. His financial affairs were, however, improved considerably by his appointment 
to the office of musical director of the cathedral in Rio, though he continued his teaching, 
giving lessons at home to a class of free pupils for thirty-eight years. His students used 
to wear a red and blue cockade in their hats, and were exempt from military service. When 


MUSIC, ART, AND LITERATURE 167 


the king returned to Lisbon, he invited José Mauricio to accompany him, but the musician 
would not leave his native land. He composed some notable pieces of sacred music, among 
them the Funeral Symphony,—which was executed at his own burial,—Reqguiem, Te Deum, 
and other works. He was born in the State of Minas Geraes about 1742, and died in 
Rio in 1831. 

A pupil of José Mauricio, Francisco Manoel da Silva, was the founder of the Conserva- 
tory of Music at Rio. His compositions were very popular, and he had the good fortune to 
number among his pupils the great musician and composer Carlos Gomes. The National 
Conservatory of Music in Rio, founded in 1833, has been an important factor in the educa- 
tion of Brazilian musicians. It is now called the National Institute of Music and-is in a more 
flourishing condition than at any previous time in its history. Henrique Oswaldo, until 


THE BRAZILIAN ACADEMY OF LETTERS. 


recently director, is a composer of international reputation, whose musical education began 
in Sao Paulo and was completed in Florence, Italy, under Grozzoni, of the Florentine Musical 
Institute. His composition // Neige, won the prize in an international contest held in Paris, 
in which six hundred composers competed; the decision in its favor was without a dissenting 
vote, Saint-Saens being the most enthusiastic of the judges in conferring. upon this exquisite 
gem the premium of superiority. The musical genius of Henrique Oswaldo is versatile, his 
compositions are about fifty in number, and include sonatas, concertos, symphonies for grand 
orchestra, and a great variety of pieces for stringed instruments, as well as for the piano. 
The present director of the National Institute of Music, Alberto Nepomuceno, is one of 
the greatest composers of America, a worthy successor to the immortal Carlos Gomes. His 
operas Electra, Riberto, and Artemis have proved notable successes in Europe and Brazil, 


168 TAEPN EI EBRAZIE 


Electra having been performed in Paris, A/berto in Vienna and Artemis in Rio. | Alberto 
Nepomuceno is a native of Ceara, where he was born in 1864, the son of a well-known 
Brazilian musician, Victor Nepomuceno. In 
addition to his operas, the author has written 
many charming morceaux for the piano and 
a number of compositions for the orchestra. 
By the recent death of Leopoldo Miguez, 
the Institute lost one of its most brilliant 
members, who was director for several 
years, and contributed greatly to its ad- 
vancement and prestige. He was a com- 
poser of rare and powerful genius. A 
Brazilian musician, Francisco Braga, is the 
author of the new opera, /upyra, which 
was recently performed with notable suc- 
cess in the Imperial Theatre of Munich. 
Meneleo Campos, the successor of Carlos 
Gomes as director of the Para Conserva- 
tory, has made valuable contributions to 
Brazilian music, among others a funeral 
march dedicated to the memory of his 
illustrious predecessor. The composers 
Carlos de Mesquita, Francisco Alfredo Bev- 
ilaqua, as Well as the inspired violinist, José 
Augusto de Souza Lima, and the famous pianist, Donna Fanny Guimaraes, are noted 
musicians who have contributed greatly to the advancement of musical culture in Brazil. 
In comic opera, no composer has won greater popularity than Abdon Milanez, a native 
of Parahyba, whose music is heard in every city and town of the republic. His muse 
is essentially gay and lively, and the titles of his operas suggest the spirit in which they 
are composed. The librettos, written by well-known Brazilian poets, are replete with wit 
and satire. A Loteria do Amor (The Lottery of Love), Donzella Theodora, A Dama de 
Espadas, (The Queen of Spades), O Bico de Papagaio, (The Parrot’s Beak), and at least a 
dozen more, are as familiar to Brazilian playgoers as are The Mikado and The Belle of New 
York to English and American audiences. 

Music and ‘painting have flourished side by side in Brazil, the history of both dating 
from about the same period, that of the establishment of the Portuguese Court at Rio, early 
in the nineteenth century. Soon after his arrival, King Dom Jodo VI. gave his royal sanction 
to the organization of a school of fine arts under the direction of some of the most celebrated 
teachers in Europe. Prior to that time, only a few works of art had been produced to which 
Brazil could point with pride. Among the earliest of these were the landscapes of two 


GONGALVES DIAS. 


MUSIC, ART, AND LITERATURE 169 


Dutch painters who flourished during the seventeenth century while the northern part of 
Brazil was in possession of Holland. In the eighteenth century, José Leandro de Carvalho, 
born at Rio, was the first Brazilian artist of note, succeeded by José de Oliveira, Joao de 
Sousa, Raymundo da Costa, Manoel Dias de Oliveira Braziliense, and others. The founding 
of the school of fine arts at Rio de Janeiro contributed greatly to the development of artistic 
talent. Among the distinguished pupils of this school were Simplicio de Sa, painting-master 
to the Emperor Dom Pedro II., and Corréa de Lima, whose pupils numbered some of the 
greatest painters of Brazil, including the celebrated historical painter De Mello Corte-Real, 
Victor Meirelles, who painted The First Mass in Bragil, The First Battle of Guararapes, The 
Naval Battle of Riachuelo, Passage of Humayta, and other famous canvases, and Pedro 
Americo de Figueiredo, to whose genius Brazil owes several of her best creations on canvas. 
This institution, now known under the name of the Escola Nacional de Bellas Artes, has 
among its present members the famous sculptor Rodolpho Bernardelli, who is its president; 
and whose works are known and admired both in Europe and America, the handsomest 
monuments of Rio being evidences of his genius. He is best known abroad through his 
Christ and the Sinning Woman and The Coquette. The monument of Pedro Alvares Cabral 
and the statues of the Duke de Caxias, General Osorio, and José de Alencar, are among 
his best works. Corréa Lima, a 
pupil of Bernardelli, is a young 
sculptor of great promise, who 
has already produced striking 
evidences of superior talent ina 
number of groups and figures. 
His Mater Dolorosa, Remorse, 
and St. John the Baptist, reveal 
his strong individuality and true 
genius. Donna Nicolina de 
Assis, of Sado Paulo, is a sculp- 
tress of undeniable genius and 
power. In painting, Henrique 
Bernardelli, the brother of the 
sculptor, has achieved distinc- 
tion as the author of several 
works of exceptional merit. 
José Mauricio before the King, 
Madonna, Extasis, and Cumutlos 
are paintings which indicate not THE OLD NATIONAL LIBRARY, FOUNDED BY KING DOM JOAO VI. 
only power but great versatility. 

In the painting of historical and allegorical subjects, no artist of the New World 
excelled the illustrious Brazilian, Pedro Americo de Figueiredo, whose death at Florence, 


170 THE NEHA BRAAL 


Italy, October 7, 1905, was a calamity not only to the nation honored through his genius, 
but to the world of art, represented in all lands, which loses in him one of its most gifted 


THE NEW NATIONAL LIBRARY IN THE AVENIDA CENTRAL. 


sons. His last great work was the allegorical painting Paz e Concordia (Peace and Concord), 
which has been purchased by the Brazilian government and now hangs in a salon of 
Itamaraty Palace, the Foreign Office. The allegory is conveyed with artistic effect. In 
front of the temple Paz e Concordia, a figure representing the Brazilian nation advances 
in the pathway illumined by civilization, to meet the principal nations of the world that 
come to honor her, led by the United States, the strongest and most enlightened power of 
America. Vestals sing a chorus of peace, history records a memorable date (the arbitration 
treaty of Berne), poetry celebrates the joyous occasion with her lyre, and the arts, repre- 
sented by. painting and sculpture, in suppliant attitude, attract the attention of the gracious 
arbiter of their fortune. In the last-named figures, the heart of the painter is revealed, his 
greatest aspiration having been to advance the interests of art in his beloved country, by 
stimulating in the Brazilian people a high appreciation of artistic culture. Among other 
paintings which have contributed to the renown of Pedro Americo are his’ Honor and 
Country and Ypiranga, the latter representing the scene on the hunting-ground near Sao 
Paulo, when Dom Pedro I. made the famous proclamation of the independence of Brazil, 
raising his sword with the battle cry, “Independencia ou Morte!” 

As a painter of historical, and particularly of Biblical subjects, Rodolpho Amoedo has 
produced several famous pictures, especially O Tamoyo, The Departure of Jacob, The Death 
of Abel, and The Story of Philetus, in which he has expressed great dramatic force and 
artistic appreciation. Pedro Weingartner, a native of Rio Grande do Sul, is unsurpassed in 
genre, his Oblique Lines having a touch of humor which gives additional effectiveness to 


MO SiGwAn IeAND] LITERATURE 171 


the study of character, while his Cowntry Ball is charming in its natural expression. Modesto 
Brocos is one of the most versatile of artists, producing portraits, landscapes, and figures, as 
well as genre, his painting Manioc, an excellent composition, demonstrating both artistic 


judgment and sound academical training. 
D’Almeida, author of During the Rest, has 
painted a delightful study in pose and ex- 
pression, the model enjoying a little coquetry 
during the relaxation, which seems thor- 
oughly appreciated by the artist. Decio Vil- 
lares, Baptista da Costa, Maria da Cunha 
Vasco, Antonio Parreiras, Arsenio da Silva, 
Aurelio de Figueiredo, Agostinho da Motta, 
Abigail de Andrade, and Bertha Worms, are 
prominent artists whose paintings are well 
known to connoisseurs and have won pre- 
miums in the great salons. The Academy 
has a rich collection of celebrated paintings, 
more than five hundred, both ancient and 
modern; the most valuable of these include 
canvases by Velasquez, Van Dyck, Michael 
Angelo, Correggio, and Paul Veronese. 
While the intellectual culture of Brazil 
has found expression in the development of 
a high standard of expression in music and 
art, it is in her literature more particularly 
that the mode of thought and the sentiment 
of the nation are to be divined and appre- 
ciated. In the course of the centuries the 
evolution of Brazilian literature has been 
marked by various influences, native and 
foreign. In the early colonial days it was 
distinctively Portuguese in character, with 
scarcely a touch of Brazilian coloring. Bento 
Teixeira Pinto was the first Brazilian writer 
of note; he flourished in the latter part of 
the sixteenth century, and published many 
works in both poetry and prose. In the 
seventeenth century, the brothers Euzebio 


BERNARDELLI MODELLING THE BUST OF DR. PASSOS. 


and Gregorio de Mattos, of Bahia, wrote a number of important works, the latter being 
known as the “Brazilian Rabelais.” Among their contemporaries were Botelho de Oliveira, 


PEDRO AMERICO. 


LEB ANETMB ICAL 


Diogo Gomes Carneiro, who enjoyed a royal pension 
as the chronicler-general of Brazil, Rocha Pitta, the first 
historian of note, and the dramatist José Borges de 
Barros. The eighteenth century produced the famous 
dramatist Antonio José da Silva, who was born at Rio 
de Janeiro, in 1705, but early removed to Lisbon, where 
he became the principal humorous writer for the Portu- 
guese theatre during his day. He fell a victim to the 
Inquisition in 1739. 

The first writers to develop a distinctively Brazilian 
character in their productions were the poets of the 
“Arcadia Ultramarina,” a literary society founded during 
the last quarter of the eighteenth century, at, Rio de 
Janeiro, by José Basilio da Gama and Silva Alva- 
renga, the latter a protégé of the viceroy Dom Luiz de 


Vasconcellos e Souza, whose kindness, 
aided by the efforts of Bishop Castello 
Branco, had made it possible to es- 
tablish such an institution. Modelled 
after similar societies in Europe, it was 
an influential organization in the early 
history of Brazilian literature, num- 
bering among its members all the 
writers of talent in Rio during that 
period, and the leading poets of Minas 
Geraes, José de Santa Rita Durdo, 
Claudio Manoel da Costa, Alvarenga 
Peixoto, and Thomaz Antonio Gon- 
zaga—the Minas poets forming also a 
celebrated literary society known as 
the Escola de Minas, or the Minas 
school of poets. 

The little group of Minas poets 
includes many names famous in Bra- 
zilian history, not alone for their con- 
tributions to its poetry, but also for 
their share in its first effort for inde- 
pendence. In the Minas school of 
poets was born the first purely na- 
tional and patriotic poetry in Brazil. 


HONOR AND COUNTRY. 


BY PEDRO AMERICO. 


MOSICMAKRT VANDAL TERA TURE ie) 


Thomaz Antonio Gonzaga, best known under the 
poetic name of “Dirceu,” the Brazilian Petrarch, 
was the chief of the Minas poets. His impas- 
sioned verses to “Marilia” are known by heart to 
every lover of poetry in Brazil. In the charm of 
their imagery, their loving tone, the harmony of 
diction, and the beauty of versification revealed in 
them, these poems of Dirceu to Marilia rank with 
the most charming in the Portuguese language. 
Brazilian literature is especially rich in poetry 
and romance. Sentiments of patriotism, friend- 
ship, love, or sorrow are expressed with thrilling 
feeling in its impassioned verse. The Song of the 
Exile, written by the best known and best loved 
of Brazilian poets, Goncalves Dias, is a poetic 
gem of rare beauty. It is the Home, Sweet Home! 
of the Brazilian people, and is quoted oftener than 
any other poem in the language. No translation PEDRO WEINGARTNER. 
has been made which in any sense reveals the 
exquisite delicacy of touch in the original or its plaintive rhythmic melody, though many 
attempts have been made to put it into English and other languages. Throughout the six 
stanzas of which it is composed, the little poem voices a heart cry of homesickness, or, as 
the Brazilian would say, of saudades. After recounting, with childlike simplicity, the charm 
of his native land, its palm trees, and the sweet-voiced sabia, the favorite songbird of 
Brazil, he prays with touching pathos to be spared to return, that he may once more see 
its glorious palms and hear the sabia sing. The first two stanzas are particularly musical: 


“Minha terra tem palmeiras 
Onde canta o sabia; 
AS aves que aqui gorgeam 
Nao gorgeam como la: 


““Nosso céo tem mais estrellas, 
Nossas varzeas tem mais flores, 
Nossas flores tem mais vida, 
Nossa vida mais amores.”’ 


Gongalves Dias was born in the town of Caxias, State of Maranhdo, on the 2d of 
August, 1824; he was educated at Coimbra University, in Portugal, and graduated with the 
degree of Bachelor of Laws. At the time of the appearance of his first collection of poems, 
he occupied the chair of Brazilian history in the Imperial College of. Pedro II. at Rio de 
Janeiro. In these poems many incidents in the history of Brazil were used as material, and 


174 THE NEW BRAZIL 


most of them have a distinctively American character. They were received by the Brazilian 
and the European public with immediate appreciation, the celebrated Portuguese author 
Herculano especially praising one of them, entitled Her Eyes, as “the most delicious lyrical 
composition which I have read in my life.” Recognizing his literary ability, the Brazilian 
government sent the poet to Europe, commissioned to collect manuscripts and documents 
relative to the history of Brazil. During his stay abroad, he wrote Os 7ymbiras, published 
in Leipzig, and sixteen new poems, afterward collected and published in a second volume 
of verse. He also wrote a Dictionary of the Tupy Language. On his return to Brazil, he 


THE COUNTRY BALL. BY PEDRO WEINGARTNER. 


joined a scientific commission of exploration, and made a voyage up the Amazon, gathering 
much valuable material, but at the expense of his health, which was completely broken 
down when he returned to Rio the following year. He never recovered strength from that 
time, though he lived for three years longer, a constant sufferer, but an indefatigable worker 
as long as it was possible for him to hold a pen. As a last hope, a second voyage to Europe 
was decided upon by his friends and medical advisers, and in 1862 he sailed from Pernam- 
buco for Lisbon. While in Lisbon, he translated Schiller’s Bride of Messina and added ten 
cantos to his poem Os Tymbiras. But his strength rapidly failing, he begged to be taken 
home to his native land, that he might die among her “palmeiras,” within the sound of the 


PMCSiC@aAKRINAND LITERATORE 175 


“sabia’s song,” under the blue skies of his be- 
loved Brazil. The inspired poet seems to have 
had a prophetic vision of the fate that awaited 
him, for in one of his poems he wrote: ‘“‘Adieu 
to my friends of Maranhao! so departs the exile; 
some day the waves will toss his remains up on 
the sands of the beloved shore whence so lately 
he has taken his departure, and where the cold 
ashes seek a resting-place.” And the mournful 
prediction was verified. The vessel in which he 
took passage was wrecked, and when the cap- 
tain went to the cabin to rescue the poet, he 
found that he had expired. The ship sank on 
November 3, 1864, carrying to the mysterious 
depths of the sea the mortal remains of one of 


THE BERNARDELLI BROTHERS, 


the most gifted poets of his day. “ Of poets contemporary with Gongalves Dias, several 
names stand out prominently among the many successful writers of this period: Domingos 


MANIOC, BY MODESTO BROCOS. 


176 THE NEW BRAZIL 


José Gongalves de Magal- 
hades wrote verses distin- 
guished for their lofty 
patriotic sentiment; Araujo 
Porto-Alegre, Baron of San 
Angelo, is best known by 
his epic on Columbus; 
Castro Alves, a Bahian, has 
been compared to Hugo for 
the vigor and fire of his 
style when portraying the 
misfortunes of the slaves 
and the evils of serf- 
dom; Alvares de Azevedo 
and Casimiro de Abreu 
DURING THE REST. BY FERRAZ D'ALMEIDA. are counted among the 
best lyric poets of the 


Portuguese language; Odorico Mendes 
made excellent translations of Homer 
and Virgil. Some of the chief political 
leaders under the empire contributed 
also to the national poetry. Dom 
José Bonifacio de Andrada wrote a 
masterpiece in Poesias Avulsas de 
Americo Elysio, which was published 
during his exile in France in 1825. 
Although the printing press was 
established in Brazil in 1808, its use 
was for a long time limited to the 
royal patronage, and the works pub- 
lished were chiefly official documents, 
educational works, religious pam- 
phlets, and poetry. Journalism of an 
independent character dates only from 
the time when the great national agi- 
tation began in favor of independence; 
and it was not until 1838, when the 
Brazilian Historical and Geographical 
Institute was founded, and its Review 
established, that the literature of the CARLOS GOMES. 


MUSIC, ART, AND LITERATURE 177 


country began to develop on a broad 
basis of culture, largely due to the 
efforts of this association, which for 
three-fourths of a century has con- 
tinued to exert a beneficent influence 
on the intellectual life of the nation. 
Taking history and geography as the 
main subjects of study, the Institute 
embraced in its purpose a knowledge 
of everything relating to Brazil, in- 
cluding its ethnology and sociology. 
This opened the pathway for literary 
enterprise of the most ambitious 
Scope, and within a few years the 
national literature began to be en- 
riched by prose works of great value. 
Prior to this time, the most important 
scientific work by a Brazilian author 
was the Flora Fluminense, written 
toward the close of the eighteenth 
century, by the celebrated botanist, _ 
Friar Velloso. This work has been DR. MACHADO DE ASSIS. 
universally quoted by botanists in 
treating of South American plants. About the same time, Moraes e Silva gave to the people 
his Dictionary of the Portuguese Language. The Historical and Geographical Institute has 
always counted among its active members the most eminent scholars of Brazil, its asso- 
ciate members including geographers and historians from all lands who have contributed 
to the advancement of its interests by exploration and study in Brazil. The present presi- 
dent, the Marquis de Paranagua, was one of the leading statesmen of the empire. He is 
a Scientist of international reputation. 

Prominent among Brazilian historians are the well-known authorities, Francisco Adolpho 
de Varnhagen, Viscount de Porto-Seguro, whose General History of Brazil is regarded as a 
complete and impartial work; the Baron de Rio-Branco, the greatest living authority on 
Brazilian history; Macedo, author of the most popular history of Brazil; Joaquim Caetano 
da Silva, Teixeira de Mello, Candido Mendes, Homem de Mello, Moreira Pinto, Pereira da 
_ Silva, Jodo Lisboa, Mello Moraes, and Joaquim Norberto, writers who have contributed 
invaluable works to historical literature, not only of importance to Brazil, but to the whole 
world, which reaps the benefit of their study and research. Valuable contributions to 
scientific literature have also been made by Dr. Couto de Magalhdes, author of many learned 
treatises on ethnology and archeology, who has few superiors in scientific knowledge in 


178 THE NEW (BRAZIL 


any country; by Dr. Barbosa Rodrigues, director of the Botanical Garden at Rio, author of 
important works on anthropology, ethnology, and botany; and Dr. Jodo Baptista da Lacerda, 
director of the National Museum. Ferreira Penna, 
Ladislao Netto, Sotero dos Reis, Julio Ribeiro, and 
Peixoto are among the well-known writers on 
science and philosophy. 

The literature of fiction did not develop in Brazil 
until toward the middle of the last century a group 
of writers devoted their talent to prose romance and 
the drama, in addition to poetry. The most cele- 
brated of these romancists were José de Alencar and 
Joaquim de Macedo. The Guarany of Alencar has 
passed through several editions, has been translated 
into many _ lan- 
guages, and was, 
as has been said 
previously, the 
Subject of Carlos 
Gomes’s famous 
opera O Guarany. 
Both his Guaranyp 
and his celebrated 
prose poem /ra- 
cema are based 
upon Indian lore. 
Alencar made a 
great reputation 
aS a romancist, 
dramatist, jour- 
nalist, and polit- 
ical orator, and 
a statue to his 
memory stands in 
one of the promi- 
nent squares of 
Rio. He was born 


OFFICE OF THE ‘‘JORNAL DO COMMERCIO,” AVENIDA CENTRAL, RIO. at Ceara in 1829, 
and died in 1877. 
Macedo’s The Brunette is said to have had the largest sale of any book published in 


Brazil; besides numerous romances, he also wrote some dramatic pieces, and a poem, 


MOS Cm ed NOPLILERA LORE 179 


A Nebulosa. Bernardo Guimaraes, in the romances O Garimpeiro [the diamond-seeker], 
O Seminarista, and A Escrava [zaura, has portrayed in clear coloring the life and manners 
of the State of Minas Geraes. In the novel 4s Memorias de um Sargento de Milicias, 
Manoel de Almeida has given an interesting national romance of the colonial period. 
Martim Penna is entitled to the honor of having created the national comedy. He lived 
from 1815 to 1848, and though only thirty-three years of age at the time of his death, was 
the author of thirty comedies, most of which were presented in the theatre of Rio between 
1840 and 1846. The poets Magalhdaes, Alencar, Goncalves Dias, Agrario de Menezes, Pinheiro 
Guimaraes, and Franklin Tavora all contributed to the drama. 

The greatest living novelist, and, indeed, the most distinguished figure in Brazilian 
literature to-day, is Dr. Machado de Assis, the President of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, 
who began his literary career as a poet, contemporary with Casimiro de Abreu, Bernardo 
Guimaraes, and Castro Alves, his first volume of poems, Chrpsalidas, appearing in 1864. 
From that time to the present, he has occupied a conspicuous place among Brazilian authors 
as poet, romancist, essayist and short-story writer. His novels bray Cubas, Quincas Borba, 
Dom Casmurro, Yaya Garcia and Resurrei¢do, are among the most popular in the Portuguese 
language, the portrayal of national life and character which he presents, with charming 
frankness and humor, revealing rare intuition and true artistic appreciation. His style is 
harmonious, and in certain features of his art there is something which reminds one of the 
North American novelist, William Dean Howells, though the two writers are of entirely 
different temperament. 

The election of Dr. Machado de Assis to the presidency of the Brazilian Academy was 
a unanimous recognition of his eminent talents, and of the high value placed upon his 
contributions to the literature of his country. The Academy was founded in 1896, through 
the efforts of leading /térateurs, prominent among whom were Dr. Machado de Assis, 
Lucio de Mendonga, Arthur Azevedo, Coelho Netto, Graca Aranha, Olavo Bilac, José 
Verissimo, Araripe Junior, Filinto de Almeida, Guimaraes Passos, Inglez de Sousa, Joaquim 
Nabuco, José de Patrocinio, Luiz Murat, Rodrigo Octavio, Medeiros e Albuquerque, Pedro 
Rabello, Silva Ramos, Teixeira de Mello, Baron de Loreto, and the Viscount de Taunay. 
The membership is limited to forty, and includes, in addition to its founders, already named, 
the well-known writers, Baron de Rio-Branco, Ruy Barbosa, Clovis Bevilaqua, Affonso 
Celso Junior, Sylvio Romero, Alberto de Oliveira, Alcindo Guanabara, Carlos de Laet, 
Garcia Redondo, Aluizio Azevedo, Domicio da Gama, Jodo Ribeiro, Magalhaes de Azeredo, 
Oliveira Lima, Raymundo Corréa, Salvador de Mendonca, Euclydes da Cunha, Affonso Arinos, 
Augusto de Lima, and Martins Junior, the last named having been elected to fill the chair 
left vacant by the death of the Viscount de Taunay. The Academy represents in its mem- 
bership the standard of literary culture in Brazil, though there are many writers not named 
among the “Forty,” whose works entitle them to immortal fame. By the death of the 
Viscount de Taunay, in 1899, the Academy lost one of its most brilliant members, and 
Brazil one of her greatest prose writers. The author of /nnocencia and A Retirada da 


180 THE NEW BRAZIL 


Laguna held a high place among novelists in both America and Europe, his works having 
been translated into several languages. A number of the Academy’s members are renowned 
not only as authors, but as statesmen, jurists, and scientists of international reputation. 
Ruy Barbosa, one of the greatest statesmen of Brazil, has contributed to the literature of 
his country some of its rarest gems; he has also achieved renown as an authority on 
international law and ethics. Baron de Rio-Branco, a master of literary expression, and 
Ambassador Joaquim Nabuco, whose poetic and graceful style are seen in everything that 
flows from his pen, are statesmen of world-wide reputation. Lucio de Mendonga, one of 
Brazil’s most gifted poets, is a judge of the Supreme Court, and Clovis Bevilaqua, a writer 
of prolific genius, is a recognized authority on jurisprudence, having recently completed the 
task of writing the Civil Code of Brazil. 

Few writers of Brazil have devoted themselves exclusively to the profession of author- 
ship, though in some instances it is difficult to imagine, in view of their numerous contri- 
butions to literature, how they could find time for any other occupation. The Brazilian 
muse is fertile in production, and it is not unusual to find a poet who has published more 
than one volume of verse, or a novel- 
ist whose books are counted by the 
score. » The palm in this*respect vis 
generally conceded to the celebrated 
Maranhao novelist, Coelho Netto, who 
has written romances, poems, come- 
dies, essays, and critical reviews, with 
marvellous versatility and brilliancy of 
style, his genius appearing to be inex- 
haustible in resource and of abundant 
vitality. Affonso Celso is another 
novelist of prolific genius, though the 
number of his yearly productions falls 
far behind the annual list of Coelho 
Netto’s works. 

An exception to the rule of nu- 
merous literary progeny appears in the 
case of the celebrated author of Cha- 
naan, Dr. Graca Aranha. He has 
written few books, but the success of 
Chanaan is an abundant proof of his 
genius. It is regarded by the critics 
as marking an epoch in the national 
romance, and has been styled “the novel of immigration,” the plot developing out of the 
circumstances which surround a foreign colonist who settles near Victoria, in the State 


DR. JOSE CARLOS RODRIGUES, 
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF THE “JORNAL DO COMMERCIO.” 


MOUS CeAhimeANDAE PERATORE 181 


of Espirito Santo. Few novels have been accorded a more popular welcome than Chanaan. 
Aluizio Azevedo ranks among the popular romancists, his novel O Mulato having run 
through several editions. He has 
also written dramas, though, in this 
field, the most successful Brazilian 
author is Arthur Azevedo, who has 
produced not less than fifty plays, 
alone or in collaboration with Aluizio 
Azevedo, Moreira Sampaio, and other 
popular dramatists. His latest play, 
O Dote, a comedy in three acts, was 
performed for the first time at Rio, 
during the season of 1907, and was 
a brilliant success. It is dedicated 
to Donna Julia Lopes de Almeida, a 
Brazilian writer of note, whose Reflec- 
tions of a Husband suggested the plot 
of the play. 

Poetry is still, as it has always 
been, the favorite medium of literary 
expression among Brazilian authors, 
and a few writers of verse have con- 
tributed gems of invaluable worth 
and beauty to the national literature. 
Among the leading poets of Brazil, DR. OLAVO BILAC. 

Olavo Bilac is distinguished for the 

brilliancy of his imagination and the exquisite purity of his style. He is compared to 
Gongalves Dias in sentiment and expression. His poem A Morte de Tapir suggests Os 
Tymbiras, and in his Via-Lactea there is much of the grace and beauty characteristic of the 
best verse of his great predecessor. Raymundo Corréa, a poet of rare talent, is the author 
of As Pombas, one of the most popular short poems in the language, the charm of which 
is felt equally in its beautiful sentiment and in the rhythm of its perfect lines. Luiz Guima- 
raes, whose facility in verse-making is phenomenal, has published seven. volumes of poems, 
some of them being among the most beautiful in the Portuguese language. Pedras Pre- 
closas (Precious Stones), Ave Maria, and Paulo e Virginia are considered the best. Donna 
Presciliana Duarte de Almeida is the author of a charming book of poems called Sombras, 
which the critics have pronounced worthy of a high place in poetical literature, and another 
Brazilian poetess, Donna Julia Cortines, has written gems of verse in a little volume entitled 
Vibragoes. Donna Emilia Bandeira de Mello, “Carmen Dolores,” is a: favorite poetess, as 
well as a prose writer of distinction. 


182 LA EEN EVRA Ze 


Many of the best writers of Brazil began their career as poets and journalists, and later 
took up other lines of literary work. Mello Moraes Filho, the celebrated chronicler of 
Brazilian traditions and folklore, is a poet of merit and a successful journalist as well as a 
historian. Sylvio Romero, who is best known through his History of Brazilian Literature 
and his Popular Songs of Brazil is an indefatigable worker, and his field of activity is appar- 
ently unlimited. He has written poetry, art criticisms, literary reviews, folklore, and books 
on philosophy, ethnology, politics and jurisprudence, besides a number of biographical 
Studies. Sylvino Gurgel do Amaral, Counsellor of the Brazilian embassy at Washington, 
has given to the public an interesting study of the life and works of Grotius, and has in 
preparation an important work on the diplomatic history of the neutrality of the Powers 
during the war of Secession in the United States, 1860-1865. Euclydes da Cunha, a 

diplomatist and scientist as 
(a re well as a poet, is the author of 
| many notable works. Rodrigo 
Octavio, who is a poet and 
prose writer of great talent, has 
recently published a fascinat- 
ing story of colonial days, 
Felisberto Caldeira, a historical 
romance, having as its subject 
the descendant of John III., 
Duke of Brabant, who was 
the father of the Marquis de 
Barbacena, and one of the 
most conspicuous figures of 
the empire, a Beau Brummel 
in dress and a_ recognized 
leader among the statesmen of 
his day. 

Poetry and journalism have 
been closely associated in their 
influence on the literature of 
Brazil, and in this country, 
more than in others, the press 
has been a powerful factor in 
the development of literary cul- 

OFFICE OF THE NEWSPAPER “‘O PAIZ,” AVENIDA CENTRAL, RIO. ture. The primary raison @étre 

of the Brazilian newspaper was 
not that of a purveyor of news; it was as a medium for political oratory and debate 
that the first journals were established. Nearly every political leader under the empire 


MUSIC, ART, AND LITERATURE 183 


wrote for the press, and his contributions were prepared with a view to attracting readers 
to their literary style as well as to the principles advocated therein. The chief editors of 
these early newspapers were men prominent 
in the State and distinguished for literary 
culture. Many of them were political orators 
of renown. Dom José Bonifacio de Andrada, 
Bernardo Pereira de Vasconcellos, who was 
one of the directing powers in the framing of 
the criminal code of Brazil; Antonio Fran- 
cisco de Paula e Hollanda Cavalcanti de 
Albuquerque, Prime Minister and Minister of 
Finance during the minority of Dom Pedro II.; 
the Regent Feijo; the Marquis de Parana, who 
controlled the politics of Brazil for a time as 
leader of the united Conservative and Liberal 
parties during the empire; the Viscount de 
Caravellas and Paulo e Souza, who were 
called “the invincible fortresses of the Liberal 
party’; Miguel Calmon, Marquis d’Abrantes, 
-a minister of the empire who was known as 
the “canary” from his eloquent and pleasing 
speech; and Rodrigues dos Santos, Souza 
Franco, Ferreira Guimaraes, Justiniano Rocha, DR. RODRIGO OCTAVIO, 

Francisco Octaviano, and Antonio Ferreira 

Vianna, are names connected with the best journalism of the empire as well as with its 
political life and progress. 

The first newspaper established in Brazil was the Gazeta do Rio, in 1808. The /dade 
de Ouro was founded in Bahia in 1811. Pernambuco had a newspaper in 1817, and at 
Maranhao the Conciliador was established about the same time. In 1824 the Spectator was 
founded at Rio, and changed in 1827 to the Jornal do Commercio, the leading newspaper of 
Brazil to-day. The greatest statesmen and politicians of the empire were among the con- 
tributors to this daily, which published speeches, essays, poems, and stories as well as 
news. The Viscount de Rio-Branco, who was a gifted writer, published articles on political 
and other subjects in its columns. The present management of the paper is under the 
direction of Dr. José Carlos Rodrigues, a prominent figure in national affairs and a scholar 
of wide reputation. Other successful dailies of the capital are O Par?, Jornal do Brasil, 
Gazeta de Noticias, Correo da Manha, A Noticia and A Tribuna. An English weekly, the 
Brazilian Review is the most important Brazilian journal published in a foreign language. The 
Revista Braziletra, edited by José Verissimo, is the leading literary magazine of Brazil, and 
the official organ of the Brazilian Academy. Among its contributors are the best writers of 


184 LEN EVA DIGAZ LE 


Brazil; the editor is an author of distinction, who is generally recognized as the best literary 
critic of South America. Araripe Junior is also a noted critic, excelling as a keen analyst 
and a sympathetic reader of character. . The periodical literature of Brazil has been greatly 
increased during the past few years, and its illustrated magazines and journals are both 
interesting and artistic. Kosmos is the title of a handsomely illustrated weekly to which the 
best writers of the day contribute stories, poems, and various articles. Renascenga is also 
an illustrated weekly of artistic design and purpose. Chief among the annuals is the 
Almanaque Brazileiro Garnier, which is a collection of interesting information for the year, 
relating to statistics, politics, literature and the fine arts, etc., arranged in entertaining style 
by the editor, Jodo Ribeiro, one of the most noted prose writers of Brazil. 

So evident is the influence of mental culture upon the life and manners of a people, 
and so important is its relation to human progress and development, that no adequate idea 
of the real advancement of a nation can be gained without a knowledge of its achievements 
in this direction. The musical schools, art-galleries, and great libraries of Europe bear 
witness to the steady march of civilization in those countries covering centuries; and, in 
proportion to the high character of similar institutions in the New World, it is possible 
to trace the growth of national improvement on this side of the Atlantic. Brazil has 
made wonderful progress in the production of good literature, some of her writers ranking 
with the best in the world; and there are musical composers and painters of Brazil worthy 
to be named with the great masters of the Old World. 


STATUE OF JOSE DE ALENCAR, 


Ma Fae 
HE LIBRARY 


“SITOdOULdd 


DR. ALFREDO BACKER, .- 
PRESIDENT OF THE STATE OF RIO. 


CHAR IBReX 
THE STATE OF RIO 


N describing the political and intellectual progress 
of Brazil, as well as in treating of its commercial 
advancement, the State of Rio claims especial atten- 
tion, having been the chief centre of national 
activity from the time when the colonial capital 


was removed to the city of Rio de Janeiro in 
1762 to the present day. It was not until 1834 


that the Federal district was set apart as a 


neutral municipality, and placed under a sepa- 
rate administration from that of the province 
of Rio; and even then the political change did 
not alter the social and intellectual conditions 
which have always distinguished what is pop- 
ularly called the “Fluminense State.” Under 
the empire, the atmosphere of the court spread 
its influence to the smallest hamlet of the 
province, where the social life-of the capital 
was faithfully reflected. Some of the greatest 
statesmen of Brazil, as well as many of her 
leading poets, musicians, and artists, were born 


in this province, which gave to the nation such renowned heroes as the Duke de Caxias, 
Admiral Saldanha da Gama, and Viscount de Itaborahy, the first president of the prov- 
ince, after the separation of the neutral municipality of the capital; it was the birthplace 
of the poets, Casimiro de Abreu, Goncalves de Magalhdes, and Luiz Guimaraes Junior; of 
the famous musicians, José Mauricio and Leopoldo Miguez; and of Joao Caetano, the 


greatest tragedian of Brazil. 


187 


188 THE NEW BRAZIL 


From. many standpoints the State of Rio presents exceptional features of interest. 
Amid its picturesque hills have been established several foreign colonies which have grown 
to be thriving towns; its railways 
provide the only outlet for over- 
land traffic to the port of Rio, the 
most important commercial cen- 
tre of the republic; and its indus- 
tries, particularly those of coffee 
growing and sugar cane culture, 
provide an increasing share of 
the national revenue. Situated in 
a fertile region, and possessing 
the advantages of a moderate 
climate, favored alike by the 
mountain air and the sea breeze, 
the State surrounds one of the 
most beautiful harbors of the 
world, and enjoys every natural 
advantage for the development 
of a rich and populous common- 
wealth. Its area is about thirty 
thousand square miles, and the 
length of its coast-line a little 
more than five hundred miles. 
Several ranges of mountains cross 
the State, of which the chief are 

ROUTE TO PETROPOLIS. the Serra dos Orgaos and the 
Serra da Estrella; the river Para- 
hyba is the principal waterway in the northern part, for some distance marking the 
dividing-line between Rio and Minas Geraes. Although there is considerable forest land, 
the territory under cultivation is quite extensive, coffee being grown everywhere in the 
State, on the plains as well as along the sloping hillsides. Rio coffee grown in this State 
is of prime quality, and the yield sometimes reaches an average of five or six pounds 
to the tree, amounting to a million sacks annually. Sugar and cotton plantations are 
numerous and under profitable cultivation. With the increasing network of railways, 
the commercial facilities of the State are constantly improving; while a rapid growth in 
population is assured in consequence of the opportunities offered to immigrant colonies 
of an industrious class. 

The present administration of the State of Rio is devoting especial attention to coloniza- 

tion, and lands for this purpose have been set aside in the municipalities of Santa Maria 


iNahel SWUZO AS Oyo al@. 189 


Magdalena and Sado Francisco de Paula in the northeastern part of the State, and near 
Therezopolis, in the Serra dos Orgdos. These localities are salubrious and fertile, offering 
excellent opportunities for the farmer and fruit grower. The president of the State, 
Dr. Alfredo Backer, in his last annual message to the legislative assembly, presented in 
August, 1907, particularly urged the necessity of bringing to the State foreign colonists of 
the same industrious character as those who settled the now prosperous cities of Petropolis 
. and Nova Friburgo. The resources of the State can only be fully developed through the 
labor of a sufficiently large population to cover the whole territory. The opportunities 
offered to colonists are singularly inviting, as not only are the colonization lands located 
in favorable regions 
from the standpoint 
of health and fertility, 
but they are easily 
accessible by railway, 
the various lines that 
traverse the State con- 
necting these munici- 
palities with the capital 
of the State and with 
the Federal capital. 
The State of Rio 
has the oldest. rail- 
way in Brazil, the first 
track having been laid 
in 1854 at Maua, the 
landing for boats tak- 
ing passengers to and 
from Rio across the 
bay to connect with 
conveyances between 
that point and Pe- 
tropolis. The line was 
opened to traffic in 
1856, running, at first, 
only from the land- 
ing to the foot of the 


mountains, though it THE SUMMER PALACE OF EMPEROR DOM PEDRO II, PETROPOLIS. 


has since been ex- 
tended up the mountain and beyond Petropolis, now forming a part of the -Leopoldina 
system. In honor of its promoter, Viscount de Mauda, the pioneer of railroad building in 


190 THE NEW BRAZIL 


Brazil, this line was called the Mauda Railway. The Leopoldina system, one of the most 
extensive in Brazil, crosses the State by means of two separate lines, one of which has 


THE AMERICAN EMBASSY, PETROPOLIS. 


its chief terminus in the city of Rio de Janeiro, extending thence northward and passing 
through the towns of Iguassu, Magé, and the city of Petropolis, to the northern boundary of 
the State at Parahyba do Sul. The other line starts from Nictheroy, the capital of the State 
of Rio, and, dividing into two branches, from which there are several shorter lines diverging 
to form a complete network of railways, this division of the system crosses the State to its 
farthest limits, passing through all the important cities and towns. Besides the Leopoldina 
system, which is a private enterprise, owned by an English company, and the Central Rail- 
way, which belongs to the Federal government, there are several shorter lines; among these 
are the Therezopolis Railway, connecting that mountain city with the seacoast; the Sapucahy, 
Marica, Rio de Ouro, Unido Valenciana, Rio das Flores, and others. 

While advancing the interests of the State by promoting its industrial and commercial 
welfare, the government has not neglected educational matters. Many new reforms have 
been introduced in accordance with recent decrees of the State, and the attendance, as well 
as the standard of instruction, has notably improved within a few years. In the primary 
schools the number of pupils enrolled at the beginning of the last school year was nineteen 
thousand five hundred and fifty, as against seven thousand six hundred and forty pupils 
enrolled in- 1903; the average attendance increased from five thousand one hundred and — 
thirty in 1903 to twelve thousand five hundred and ninety-one in 1906. The new lyceum 


JOSS SIOADIE WOO Tae, 191 


of Campos, which was established in conformity with the government decree, Septem- 
ber 11, 1906, has one hundred pupils on the roll call; the Petropolis lyceum has one hundred 
and thirty pupils; in each of these schools a night class is maintained under the direction of 
a professional teacher. The Normal School of Nictheroy has an attendance of one hundred 
and forty-one students, and that of Campos seventy-four. In addition to schools for 
primary and secondary instruction, there are technical schools and colleges in all the large 
towns. Anchieta College of Nova Friburgo is one of the most flourishing institutions of 
the State; and in the Salesian College of Santa Rosa, Nictheroy, the arts and crafts are 
taught with eminently satisfactory results. 

In the development of its cities and towns, Rio has many advantages, not only because 
of excellent railway communication, and the inviting charm of natural beauty, but also 
through its proximity to the Federal capital and the great harbor to which ships of all 
nations come; so that residents are constantly in touch with the outside world, living, so 
to speak, on the great highway of ocean travel. The climate of the State is, naturally, 
much more delightful and pure in the mountains than on the lowlands along the coast; 


A MOUNTAIN DRIVEWAY IN PETROPOLIS. 


but, taken altogether, it is of average healthfulness. Yellow fever, which is popularly 
Supposed to be endemic in Rio, made its first appearance, as stated in a previous chapter, 


192 THEINEW BRAAIE 


in 1849, on a slave-ship, and was totally extinguished ten years later, not visiting the State 
again until 1869, when it was brought in by an Italian ship, the Creola del Plata. It has 


THE PUBLIC LIBRARY, PETROPOLIS. 


never been the constant scourge which foreigners have supposed it to be, and since the 
adoption of modern methods of sanitation it has become practically a plague of the past. 

When the national capital and district were separated from the State of Rio by a 
decree of the Constitution, the city of Nictheroy was made the State capital, and it has 
continued to have that distinction, except during an interval of nine years, from 1894 to 
1903, When Petropolis was the chief seat of government. Nictheroy is a busy city of thirty 
thousand people, lying on the eastern shore of the bay of Rio, opposite to the Federal capital. 
Nictheroy, an Indian name signifying “hidden water,’ was an Indian settlement at the 
time of the discovery of Brazil. 

By a charter of May 10, 1819, the name Villa Real da Praia Grande was given to this city, 
which it retained until 1834, when it was made the provincial capital, with its present title. 
The municipality includes the six parishes, Joao Baptista, S. Lourengo, Nossa Senhora da 
Conceicgao da Jurujuba, Sao Sebastido de Itaipu, S. Goncalo, and Nossa Senhora da Conceicaéo 
de Cordeiros. Several public squares, or pragas, ornament the city, of which the Pinto 
Lima, with its verdure-clad garden, is one of the most attractive. The streets are broad, 
well paved, well lighted, and traversed by a complete system of street railways, or ‘“‘bonds.” 
The city is divided into three wards, or districts: Praia Grande, the business section; 
S. Domingos, where the old palace of the government is situated, as well as a number 


Pate STEN Ge: COP Ia 8. 193 


of picturesque villas and chacaras; and the magnificent suburb Icarahy, famed for its 
baths, beautiful drives, and enchanting scenery. Many handsome public buildings have 
been constructed, including the new government palace, the charity hospital, Asylo de 
Santa Leopoldina, the new marine hospital of Santa Isabel, in Jurujuba, the municipal 
chambers, hospital of SAo Jodo Baptista, Normal School, theatres, and churches. 

The Barcas ferry connects Nictheroy with Rio de Janeiro, and the trip across the bay 
is delightful. The inauguration of this line of ferry boats was due to the patriotism and 
enterprise of the Viscount de Moraes, a citizen of Nictheroy, who for many years has 
devoted his efforts to the progress of that city, and especially to the development of 
plans by which it might be brought into closer relations with the Federal capital. Not 
only by his enterprise in connection with the ferry system, has the Viscount de Moraes 
promoted the best interests of his beloved city, but by his progressive methods in other 
works that he has undertaken. Through his initiative a system of electric street rail- 
ways has been established, and the line, of which he is the owner, runs from the centre 


A RIVER SCENE IN PETROPOLIS. 


of the city to the picturesque suburbs of Icarahy, and Sacco do Sao Francisco, on the 
Shore of the bay of Rio, or Guanabara, as it is sometimes called in remembrance of its 


194 THE NEW BRAZIL 


Indian traditions. The electric street railway to the suburbs is a great convenience, and 
every evening the cars are filled with people seeking the picturesque Sacco do Sao Francisco 
or the praia of Icarahy. A 
tourist hotel and a casino 
are being built at Sado Fran- 
cisco, which has a beach 
rivalling that of Trouville, 
and which promises one 
day to be one of the favor- 
ite resorts of Rio. Already 
the foreign colony, and es- 
pecially the athletic element 
devoted to the pastime of 
boating, yachting, etc., is 
represented in considerable 
number on this side of the 
bay. The municipal govern- 
ment is active in promoting 
the interests of foreign and 
THE GERMAN LEGATION, PETROPOLIS. native citizens with equal 
consideration, the Prefect, 
Dr. Pereira Ferraz, devoting especial attention to all reforms which tend to increase the 
value of property and to improve the comfort of citizens. 

For those who prefer mountain air and scenery to the attractions of the coast, the city 
of Petropolis is a paradise of beauty and charm. Situated in the Serra da Estrella, it presents 
an enchanting picture in the variety and charm of its Alpine effects. It is particularly 
attractive in the first blush of morning, when, as some one has described it, “the sun rises 
in all his splendor above the seven hill-tops, lighting up the dull, grassy green of the 
orange-groves, the tall, feathery crests of the graceful palms, the huge banner-like leaves of 
the banana, the spiky columns of the cactus, the great rocks that stand isled in the sea of 
vegetation, and the rainbow plumage of the humming-birds and butterflies that hover enjoy- 
ingly on the warm, voluptuous air, till all above and below isa dazzling blaze of glory.” 
One can imagine nothing more delightful than in the early morning hours to take a horse- 
back ride along the smooth road, with all the glories of tropical vegetation poured out like a 
flood over the great mountain walls on each side; to see the little river dancing and leaping 
among the black, broken rocks below, now flashing its foam in the sunlight, now slinking 
shyly away beneath the shadow of overhanging trees; to watch the broadening sunshine 
roll across the endless range of woods, tree-top after tree-top catching the glow till the 
whole forest is one sea of splendor; to feel the fresh mountain breeze stirring your blood 
till it leaps through your veins, making mere existence an enjoyment. Any one who has 


Wale SIEGHBS (Ole 1@) 195 


seen the place will readily recognize a description of that picturesque path, with its over- 
arching leaves of brightest crimson, crumbling walls alive with glittering lizards, and great 
boulders of black rock down which the living green of the trailing fern pours itself in a 
silent waterfall, and huge bell-like convolvuli twining lovingly round the maimed stumps 
of the felled trees. 

The journey from Rio to Petropolis includes a trip across the bay to the Maua landing, 
from which a railway train conveys passengers to the summit of the serra. The changing 
spectacle presented by innumerable turns and curves of the bay and the constantly varying 
aspect of the islands that are passed is a source of zesthetic delight to all nature-worshippers, 
and the view that spreads out in ever-increasing charm and splendor as the railway train 
plods its way up the steep slope of the mountain-side has an exhilarating effect upon the 
imagination, filling the soul with its beauty. At times, the entire bay is seen, glistening in 
the sunlight, or covered with foamy mist, the islands and rocks that mottle its surface 
possessing each a separate claim to favor. Along the route, glimpses of the most gorgeous 
tropical vegetation appear; trailing vines, feathery ferns, and damp clinging mosses making 
an effective setting for the delicate coloring of the orchid and the rich glow of more brilliant 
blossoms. Great blocks of granite poised precariously on the verge of towering cliffs, and 
Swift mountain streams which in rainy weather swell to roaring torrents, give that element 
of recklessness which is characteristic of Nature in her wildest moods. The Serra da 
Estrella is a part of the chain of Orgdos, or Organ Mountains, which includes also the Serra 
Tingua, connecting with the Coast Range:that extends under different names throughout 
the whole coast country of Brazil. 


PRAIA DE ICARAHY, NICTHEROY. 


Orchid hunters find an everlasting source of interest in the treasures of Petropolis. 
The beautiful ground orchids with names that no one but an “orchidologist” can remember: 


196 THE NEW BRAZIL 


the Lelia Tenebrosa, the Lelia Perrini, and many other Leelias are found in the enchanting 
recesses of the Petropolis hills. Sophonites, red orchids of exquisite delicacy in color and 
form, and Epidendrums of many 
varieties, are gathered by eager 
orchid hunters. A very suc- 
cessful collector in this field is 
Mr. John O. Hall, of Buenos 
Aires, who has carried off some 
rare specimens for his con- 
servatory, in which he has 
many of the choicest varieties 
of orchids in the world. 

During the social season, 
which is from December to 

ANCHIETA COLLEGE, NOVA FRIBURGO. May, Petropolis is the scene 
of continued gaiety, its drives 
thronged with carriages and its homes brilliant with various festivities. Originally founded 
in 1845, as an agricultural colony with a small German population, the city has grown to 
be the Versailles of the Brazilian capital; as the favorite resort of wealth and fashion, and 
an important educational centre, it has some advantages above all other Brazilian cities. It 
is unique as the only city outside of a national capital that is the permanent residence of the 
foreign diplomatic corps. As previously stated, this distinction was first gained when, in 
consequence of a yellow-fever epidemic in Rio de Janeiro, the diplomatic body sought 
shelter in this beautiful spot, twenty-eight miles from the capital and three thousand feet 
above its level. At first, only nine months of the year were spent here, during which daily 
visits were made to and from the city; but this routine being very tiresome, the chiefs of 
diplomatic missions petitioned their governments to authorize the establishment of perma- 
nent residence in Petropolis. It is likely, however, that the official home of the foreign 
diplomatic corps will soon be removed again to the national capital. 

As the headquarters of about twenty foreign diplomatic representatives, Petropolis is 
‘one of the most important small cities in the world. In the midst of rich tropical verdure, 
with an endless variety of effects in landscape and architecture, its beauties present an 
additional charm in the legation villas, which, as a rule, are located most attractively, over- 
looking luxuriant gardens and well-trimmed lawns. The American embassy, of which 
Hon. Irving B. Dudley is the diplomatic chief, is established in a beautiful mansion, with 
broad verandas and surrounded by spacious grounds. The Portuguese minister to Brazil, 
Dr. Joao de Oliveira SA Camelo Lampreia, has his official residence in the Rua Paysandu, 
Rio, in a beautiful palacete of the Portuguese style of architecture. The Legation of Ger- 
many, the official home of the German minister, Baron von Reichnau, and the Mexican 
Legation, of which Dr. Lizardi is chief, are among the most attractive residences of the 


THE STATE OF RIO 197 


foreign representatives. The ladies of the diplomatic corps entertain with charming hospi- 
tality, and social life in the mountain city is always enjoyable, although during the winter 
months of June and July the weather is sometimes quite cold. Ona beautiful site stands 
the palace once the summer residence of the Emperor Dom Pedro II.; it is now the 
property of the Countess d’Eu and is used for a young ladies’ seminary. There are several 
foreign schools in Petropolis, the most important being the German college for boys and 
the American school for girls. 

In addition to the interest that attaches to the summer capital as a fashionable resort, as 
the seat of foreign diplomatic missions, and as an educational centre, are its many commercial 
enterprises in the nature of large spinning-mills, factories, and breweries. The population 
numbers about twenty-five thousand. From Petropolis an old turnpike-road extends to 
Juiz de Fora, in the State of Minas, a distance of nearly one hundred and fifty miles, a high- 
way which was fiist opened after the construction of the Maua railway, for the purpose of 
bringing down the produce of the interior. Although the Central Railway now carries all 
this traffic, the road is still a favorite drive-way. 

Many flourishing towns throughout the State reflect the life and customs of the larger 
cities. Campos, with a population of about twenty-five thousand is one of the largest 
of these towns. It is situated on a plain over which the sea-breeze blows with refreshing 
coolness. Three railroads respectively connect it with the Federal capital, the State of 
Minas Geraes, and the State of Espirito Santo. The municipal building is a neat edifice, 
containing, among other important features, a valuable library, besides which there are two 
smaller libraries open to the 
public, the property of private 
societies. The town is situated 
on the banks of the Parahyba, 
an iron bridge crossing the river 
at this point. By means of a 
grand canal, Campos is con- 
nected with the seaport Macahé, 

a railway also uniting the two ~ 
towns. Among the successful 
institutions of Campos are the 
Society of Agriculture, vari- 
ous benevolent societies, three 
hospitals, the Jockey Club, and 
musical, dramatic, and dancing 
societies. Three newspapers 
are published here, and the 
professions are well represented. The town is lighted with electricity, has street car lines, 
waterworks, and drainage. The region around Campos is well suited to cattle raising, and 


LYCEUM AND NORMAL SCHOOL, CAMPOS. 


198 THE NEW BRAZIL 


cattle are shipped from this place to 
supply neighboring markets. This 
section also produces fruits in abun- 
dance, and in the vicinity are valua- 
ble deposits of cement, kaolin, and 
other clays for ceramic purposes. 
Macahé is a seaport of con- 
siderable importance, having a regu- 
lar line of steamers that connect it 
with Rio de Janeiro and near coast 
towns; it is an enterprising town, 
and the centre of a fertile district 
WATERFALL AT THEREZOPOLIS. where coffee, sugar, and fedjao [the 
black bean] are grown in great 
quantities. The Quissaman sugar factory in this municipality produces about forty thou- 
sand bags of sugar a season, and one of the growing industries is the manufacture of bricks. 
The Swiss colony of Nova Friburgo is the oldest immigrant settlement in Brazil, having 
been established, in 1819, on the site of the present progressive little city of that name. 
The location of the colony could not have been better chosen, as the climate is perfect, 
the soil rich and fertile, and the scenery indescribably beautiful, the approach by railway 
rivalling in some aspects the marvellous grandeur of the route to Petropolis. The feats 
of engineering accomplished on the line of the Leopoldina in this vicinity are remarkable; 
the Fell system is used in making the ascent of the serra for a distance of about ten miles, 
and an elevation of nearly four 
thousand feet is reached at the 
highest point, or Alto da Serra, 
from which the town is scarcely 
ten miles distant, with an_alti- 
tude of about three thousand 
feet. Nova Friburgo is the 
centre of a productive coffee 
district, and within easy dis- 
tance of the. Federal capital, 
where many of its wealthy 
proprietors spend the winter 
Season. 
At an altitude of three 
thousand feet above the level 
of the sea, and in the midst of 


scenery of unrivalled beauty, THREE-RAIL TRACK ON LEOPOLDINA RAILROAD, STATE OF RIO. 


THE STATE OF RIO 199 


Therezopolis occupies a site that commands a magnificent view of the ravines and cascades 
of the Serra dos Orgdos, and in the distance the bay of Rio in all its glory. 

Sao Joao da Barra, named from a church erected at this place by the Portuguese 
settlers at the beginning of the seventeenth century and dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, 
is a growing town of about ten thousand inhabitants, situated on a tongue of land about a 
mile square, at the mouth of the Parahyba River. The large sugar refineries of the Usina 
Barcellos give additional importance to its manufacturing industries, which include severai 
mills and other enterprises. To Sao Jodo da Barra belongs the honor of having nurtured 
one of the great poets of Brazil, Casimiro de Abreu. Itaborahy, a little town not far from 
Nictheroy, is famous as the birthplace of the distinguished romancist Joaquim Manoel de 


SACCO DE SAO FRANCISCO, A SUBURB OF NICTHEROY. 


Macedo. Rezende, named in honor of the viceroy Count de Rezende, under whose 
administration the town was founded a hundred years ago, is built on the right bank of the 
Parahyba, in one of the most beautiful locations imaginable; three surrounding hills, upon 
the summit of each of which a pretty little church has been erected, give a charming effect 
to the scene. On the opposite bank of the river is the suburb of Campos Elyseos, with its 
neat little railway station on the line of the Central. 

There are innumerable growing towns and villages along the line of the various 
railroads of the State: Cabo Frio, Angra dos Reis, and Paraty are important towns on the 
coast and centres of growing industry, Cabo Frio being noted for its granite, which is of 
great value for building purposes; S. Fidelis, in the northeast, has rich deposits of graphite 
in its vicinity; gold mines exist near the prosperous little town of Cantagallo; Parahyba do 


200 THE NEW BRAZIL 


Sul, Magé, Vassouras, Valenca, Pirahy, Barra Mansa, Sapucaia, Rio Claro, Itaperuna, Padua, 
Bom Jardim, Santa Maria Magdalena, Sumidouro, Marica, Capivary, and other towns are 
connected by railway with each other and with the capital. In every town the progress is 
more marked from year to year, and throughout the State the spirit of enterprise is felt in 
every branch of endeavor, political, social, and commercial; many notable improvements 
are due to the activity of the present administration, under the leadership of President 
Alfredo Backer, a statesman of keen judgment and noted executive ability, who is assisted 
by the secretary general of the State, Dr. Jodo Damasceno Ferreira, and a cabinet of able 
officials in the various departments. 


DR. J. DAMASCENO FERREIRA, 
SECRETARY OF GOVERNMENT, STATE OF RIO. 


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SAO PAULO 


AO PAULO has had such an important 
share in the patriotic struggles and tri- 
umphs which have attended the growth and 
advancement of Brazil, that its history is 
inseparably connected with the proudest 
annals of the nation. Especially in central 
and southern Brazil, the civilization and de- 
velopment of the country were chiefly due 
to the sturdy and energetic Mamelucos, as 
the pioneer Paulistas were called. Under the 
government.of the redoubtable Ramalho 
they rendered valuable assistance to Martim 
Affonso in settling the present State of Sado 
Paulo, which took its name from a mission 
founded by the Paulist priests on the site of 
the present State capital. 

The early Paulistas had for their motto, 
“Conquer or die!” and in the history of Sao 
ape pene Paulo the influence of such unyielding deter- 

PRESIDENT OF THE STATE OF SAO PAULO. mination is abundantly shown. Overcoming 

every obstacle, this great State has grown 

and prospered under all conditions, and to-day it occupies a distinguished place as the most 

important of the Brazilian union. Possessing extraordinary interest as the richest coffee 

growing region of the world, it is further renowned as the great educational centre of Brazil, 
and as having a political constituency of the most important influence. 

The State of Sao Paulo covers an area of seventy-five thousand square miles, having 


a coast line two hundred and fifty miles long, and extending inland for four hundred miles. 
203 


204 THE NEW BRAZIL 


It borders the Atlantic Ocean on the southeast, the State of Rio on the east, Minas Geraes 
on the northeast and north, Matto Grosso on the west, and Parana on the south. The 
western boundary is marked by the river Parana, and the northern and southern boundaries 
by its tributaries, the Rio Grande and the Rio Paranapanema, respectively. A natural division 
of the State is made by the Coast Range, or Serra do Mar, which rises to an altitude of three 
thousand feet, and crosses it near the southeastern border, parallel with the seacoast, 
toward which it descends abruptly, leaving only a narrow strip of lowland between. 
This range is known in different sections as the Paranapiacaba, Cubatao, Ubatuba and 
Paraty, and has several offshoots, as the Bocaina, Quebra-Congalha and Jambeiro. A 
second range, the Serra da Mantiqueira crosses the State farther inland and parallel to the 
Serra do Mar, and has a greater altitude, its highest summits, the Itapeva and Marins being 
between seven thousand and eight thousand feet above sea-level. This range is broken at 
intervals and is known under the names of Serra da Cantareira, Juguery, and others. 

Between the Serra da Mantiqueira and the Serra do Mar lies a fertile plateau, which is 
drained by the river Parahyba, flowing northeast to the Atlantic Ocean. With the exception 
of this river and of the Ribeira de Iguape with its tributaries, which flows southeast from 
the Serra do Mar to the Atlantic, all the rivers flow from the Serra northwestward to join the 
Parana. The entire State is drained by vast tributaries of this mighty river; not only do 
the Rio Grande and Rio Paranapanema, with their extensive affluents, fertilize the northern 
and southern regions, but the great Tieté, with innumerable branches, crosses the middle 
of the State from the Serra do Mar to the extreme northwestern boundary, over a course 
nearly four hundred miles in length. This magnificent stream with its main affluent, the 
Piracicaba, is navigable for only about one hundred and fifty miles, because of the great 
number of cataracts interrupting its course, Some of which are capable of furnishing suffi- 
cient motive power for the largest engineering enterprises. The Itapura fall, on this river, 
has a width of one thousand five hundred feet and a height of forty feet, and the Avan- 
handava fall is fifty feet high. The fall at Parnahyba, a few miles from the capital of the 
State, supplies power for one hundred miles of street cars, several large mills, factories, and 
electric light installations. The possession of unlimited water power is one of the most 
valuable resources of this great State, all its rivers having tremendous cataracts. _ The 
Parana rivals every other river of the world in this respect, with half a dozen magnificent 
waterfalls lending a picturesque beauty and grandeur to its scenery, unsurpassed elsewhere. 
The Salto dos Patos, the Urubupunga, the Salto das Sete Quedas, and the greater Niagara 
known as the Salto do Iguassu, present a succession of marvellous scenes, well worth a 
visit to South America to enjoy. The falls of the Rio Grande and the Rio Paranapanema 
will be utilized in the development of large enterprises in the newly explored regions of the 
west. All the rivers are navigable over a part of their course, the Ribeira de Iguape having 
a navigable course of more than one hundred and fifty miles. 

In addition to the advantages afforded by a splendid river system for the agricultural, 
pastoral and industrial development which is now progressing rapidly in the State of Sao 


SAO PAULO 205 


Paulo, the climate also constitutes a most favorable influence, as it is uniformly mild and 
temperate, except in the warm zone that extends along the narrow strip of lowland on the 
coast, and near the lower water courses. On the plateau and the sloping hillsides of the 
central region, the climate is like that of southern Europe; for although in the latitude of 
the tropics, the altitude is such as to modify the climatic conditions of a tropical country. 
The population of the State is two million six hundred thousand, living chiefly in the 
eastern and central sections. 

Sado Paulo, the capital of the State, occupies an ideal situation on the plateau, between 
the Serra da Cantareira, from which it receives its splendid water supply, and the Serra do 
Mar, which separates it from the seacoast. The city is the second in importance in Brazil, 
and has three hundred thousand inhabitants, being one of the most populous and flourish- 
ing cities of South America. Its prosperity is due entirely to the progressive character of the 
Paulistas, who are not only distinguished for their practical ability and energetic enterprise, 
but are particularly esteemed among their compatriots for their social and intellectual culture, 
and the possession of those sterling qualities which belong to the best type of Brazilians. It 
may be, as Secretary Root said during his visit to the city in 1906, that “there is something in 
the air of SA4o Paulo which makes strong and vigorous men”; certainly, the healthful climate 
and the open-air occupations in which the greatest and noblest men of the State developed 


PALACE OF AGRICULTURE AND STATE TREASURY, SAO PAULO. 


their genius, are to be taken into consideration in looking for the causes which have led to the 
progress of the State, the wealth and importance of which is reflected in its beautiful capital. 


206 THE NEWS BRAZIL 


Like the Federal capital, Sao Paulo has been transformed within a few years, and 
though the change has not been so sudden nor so radical as in Rio, it has still been of 
sufficient importance to leave its im- 
press upon every feature of the old 
Sao Paulo of the empire, which is 
rapidly fading out of recognition in 
the modern Sao Paulo of the republic. 
But, while appreciating the advantages 
of the new régime in the advance- 
ment of the State and its capital, ‘it 
must not be forgotten that perhaps 
the most important step toward this 
agerandizement was made when the 
unfaltering hand of the Princess- 
Regent of Brazil signed the decree 
for the emancipation of the slaves, 
prepared by the noble Paulistas, 
Dr. Antonio Prado and Dr. Joao Al- 
fredo. This act had the most power- 
ful influence in stimulating the energy 
and enterprise which are to-day so 
characteristic of the Sado Paulo people, 
who needed just such a test to bring 
out their best abilities. | Resolutely 
they faced the new problems and 
solved them with courage and perse- 
verance, under the leadership of such renowned patriots as Dr. Prudente Moraes, Dr. Campos- 
Salles, Dr. Rodrigues Alves, and the present illustrious president of the State, Dr. Jorge 
Tibiriga, whose name has been prominently identified with its political progress for thirty 
years, ever Since, as a young graduate of the University of Zurich, he returned to his native 
land, fired with the republican sentiments and principles which a Helvetian education instils 
in every breast. As deputy, senator, minister of government, and president of the State, he 
has devoted, with brilliant success, his great talents to the welfare of his beloved country. 
The present administration is constantly adding prestige to the reputation of the State by 
notable reforms and improvements. The president, the vice-president, Colonel Joao Baptista 
de Mello Oliveira, and the secretaries, Dr. Gustavo de Oliveira Godoy, of interior; Dr. Wash- 
ington Luiz Pereira de Souza, of justice; Dr. Manoel Joaquim de Albuquerque Lins, of finance; 
and Dr. Carlos José Botelho, of agriculture, are united in their efforts for the highest good 
of the State. The important task of reorganizing the courts of law and the police service of 
the State has been undertaken, with most promising results, by Dr. Washington Luiz Pereira 


DR. CARLOS JOSE BOTELHO, SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE, 
SAO PAULO. 


SAO PAULO 207 


de Souza. Dr. Manoel Joaquim de Albuquerque Lins continues his notable policy as declared 
in the purchase of the Sorocabana railway and the financial transactions for enhancing the 
price of coffee. The progress in the departments of the interior and agriculture may be seen 
from subsequent chapters. The general revenue of the State, according to the last budget, 
is about 50,000,000 milreis, which is equivalent to sixteen million dollars gold, and the expen- 
diture is nearly the same amount, disbursed through the different departments. The exports 
last year amounted to 219,605,652 milreis and the imports to 78,372,959 milreis. With the 
wisdom of good government, the money of the State has been employed in improving 
the sanitary conditions of the less favored localities, with the happy result that a host of 
country towns, formerly decimated by fevers as a result of bad drainage, are now absolutely 
free from such diseases. Even where the work has been only partially completed the per- 
centage of mortality has been materially reduced, the vital statistics of the State showing it 
to be less than two per 
cent of the population, 
per annum. 

As the chief seat of 
sxovernment of the State, 
Sao Paulo is the place 
of residence of many 
distinguished statesmen 
and politicians; as a 
great educational centre, 
it attracts the leading 
scholars; and as the cen- 
tral distributing point for 
the vast industries of the 
interior, it is the home of 
a number of Sao Paulo’s 
rich “captains of in- 
dustry.” The palaces 
of the government, the 
various institutions of 
the municipality, and 
a great number of es- 
tablishments represent- 
ing private enterprise 
and philanthropy, give 
a metropolitan aspect to the capital, which is further noted in the appearance and bearing of 
the people. The name of Sao Paulo, first bestowed by the Jesuits on their college, which 
was inaugurated on the fast day commemorative of the conversion of St. Paul, was legally 


RUA DIREITA, SAO PAULO. 


208 THE NEW BRAZIL 


given to the city by Mem de Sa, Governor-General of Brazil, in 1560, when it was christened 
Sao Paulo de Piratininga. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the capitania of Sao 
Vicente, in which Sao Paulo was sit- 
uated, was separated from Rio de 
Janeiro and took the name of the 
capitania of Sao Paulo; and in 1815, 
when the capitanias were abolished, 
the city became the capital of the 
province of Sao Paulo. Its subse- 
quent history is well known, and 
the record of its glorious share in the 
victories of freedom and the names 
of its great heroes are preserved in 
the monuments, public parks and 
avenues which adorn the city. An 
important point of interest for all vis- 
itors to the city is Ypiranga, the splen- 
did monument erected, in 1885, on the 
spot where the proclamation of the 
independence of Brazil was made in 
1822; it is one of the finest works of 
architecture in Brazil, designed not 
only to commemorate this glorious 
event, but also to serve as an insti- 
DR. MANOEL JOAQUIM DE ALBUQUERQUE LINS, SECRETARY tution of learning. The architect of 
OF FINANCE, SAO PAULO. 

this noble edifice is Cavaliere Tom- 

maso G. Bezzi, whose genius is demonstrated in the beauty of its design and the perfect 
harmony of its magnificent proportions. The museum of Ypiranga contains treasures of 
great historical and scientific interest, many curious and valuable relics, also some of the 
finest paintings of Brazilian artists. In the department of taxidermy are preserved more 
than six hundred specimens of humming-birds, those dainty little exquisites of the forest 
that build their nests so very tiny that they are obliged gradually to spread it out as the 
nestlings grow, until, by the time the little ones are ready to take flight, it is perfectly flat. 
The Louvadeus [Praise God] grasshopper, that regularly makes its way to the top of a 
bush or tree and puts up its feelers in an attitude of prayer, is another curiosity of which 
many specimens are preserved in this museum; and of butterflies the collection is appar- 
ently endless in variety. Curiosities of the mineral as well as of the animal kingdom 
have been culled from every available source, the classification being so systematically 
arranged as greatly to facilitate inspection. The action of the red sand of this district 
on the marble of the edifice has given it something of the appearance of old ivory, 


SAO PAULO 209 


greatly enhancing its effectiveness. From the porticoes of Ypiranga a splendid view of 
the city is presented, with its spires and towers gleaming in the sunlight. 

In the improvement and beauti- 
fying of the capital, the magnificent 
new Praca da Republica, the Avenida 
Paulista, Avenida Tiradentes, Avenida 
Rangel Pestana, the Alameda Antonio 
Prado, Rua Visconde do Rio-Branco, 
and others bear titles which show 
how very dear to the hearts of the 
people is the memory of their patriotic 
triumphs and of the statesmen who 
have represented the highest ideals of 
liberty. In the utilitarian tendencies of 
modern cities, there is, unfortunately, 
a growing disposition to abandon this 
beautiful custom of preserving the 
names of the country’s heroes on 
the map of the capital. In the new 
suburbs, famous names are commem- 
orated, as in the Villa Prudente, Villa 
Deodoro, and others. Some of the 
older streets present a very attractive 
appearance, though narrower and less 
pretentious than their more modern DR. WASHINGTON LUIZ PEREIRA DE SOUZA, SECRETARY 
, : OF JUSTICE, SAO PAULO. 
rivals. The Rua Sao Bento, Rua Quinze 
de Novembro, and Rua Direita are busy thoroughfares, and occupy an important place in the 
“Triangle,” as the commercial centre of the city is called. From the Rua Direita, a viaduct, 
eight hundred feet long and fifty feet in width, connects the old with the new city; it is 
know as the Viaducto Cha, or “tea viaduct,” because extensive tea gardens were formerly 
cultivated in the valley beneath, though this space is now devoted to fruit growing and 
gardening. 

The Government Palace and the chief offices of the administration are situated overlook- 
ing the Largo do Palacio, in the centre of the city, from which, branching out in all directions, 
extend the principal thoroughfares. Throughout the city are to be found many handsome 
public buildings, institutions of the State or of the municipality. The Municipal Palace over- 
looks the Praga Municipal, with its flower gardens and fountains, and in the vicinity is the 
handsome new Municipal Theatre, occupying a commanding site on one of the hills of 
the city, at the extremity of the Viaducto Cha. It is an edifice of imposing architecture 
and costly construction, the work of a Sao Paulo architect, Dr. Ramos de Azevedo, who has 


210 TOE PNEVAGRAZLE 


designed several of the city’s most attractive buildings. In appearance and capacity it com- 
pares with the best theatres of Europe and North America. The cost is estimated at a million 
dollars, gold. The Palace of Congress, the Post Office, Exchange, Chamber of Commerce, 
Public Library, the Cathedral, and many of the churches and convents, of which there are 
about thirty in the city, are among the public buildings notable for their importance. In the 
northern part of the city is situated the beautiful Jardim Publico, or Jardim da Luz, the oldest 
park of the capital, which was originally created by royal charter in 1790, though not com- 
pleted until 1825, when it was opened to the public by order of the first president of the 
province, the Viscount de Congonhas do Campo. Overlooking this park is the magnificent 
Estagao da Luz, of the Sao Paulo railway, one of the largest and most modern railway 


AVENIDA TIRADENTES, SAO PAULO. 


stations of the world. The Lyceum of Arts and Trades and the Prudente de Moraes School 
also overlook the Jardim da Luz, and near at hand are the House of Correction and the 
immense quartel of the police department. 

The police force of Sao Paulo is one of the best organized in Brazil. It is a military 
institution, under the supervision of the Secretary of Justice, and is composed of two battal- 
ions of infantry, a cavalry company, a fire company, and a civil guard. A corps of hospital 
nurses and an ambulance service are also at the call of the police department to render 
public aid when needed. There are five thousand men on the force, under the command 
of a colonel of the Federal army. The Civil Guard performs ordinary police duty, unarmed, 
wearing only the uniform of the service and a police badge. In the correctional colony, 
established at Pig Island, near Ubatuba, prisoners are set to work on the farms of the 


State, in many cases being 
transferred from solitary con- 
finement when good conduct 
warrants the change. Sdo 
Paulo is the first State of the 
Union to test on a large scale 
this provision of the penal code. 

The northern limit of the 
capital is marked by the tort- 
uous course of the Tieté, and 
beyond lies the Serra da Can- 
tareira, from which an abun- 
dant water supply is brought 


SAO PAULO 211 


MUNICIPAL THEATRE, SAO PAULO. 


to the city. By the energy and enterprise of the government, a magnificent system has been 
installed for this service; and through the especial efforts of Dr. Carlos Botelho, the large 
water supply already assured, amounting to thirty-five million litres daily, has recently been 
further increased by impounding the waters below the Cabucti and on the confines of the 
Engordador and Guarahu, to furnish an additional supply of forty million litres a day. 
The light and power company of Sao Paulo have had charge of many of the notable 


PALACETE ELIAS CHAVES, WHERE SECRETARY ROOT RESIDED DURING HIS VISIT TO SAO PAULO. 


ae THE NEW BRAZIL 


improvements made in the city within the past few years, such as establishing the electric 
street railway system, and lighting the metropolis by electricity. The city has now about 
one hundred and fifty arc lights and more than five thousand incandescent lights, as well 
as five thousand gas lamps for use in emergency. 

The Avenida Tiradentes crosses the northern part of the city, extending as far as the 
river Tieté; a trip in one of the rapid electric street cars affords a charming prospect, with a 
view of some of the city’s important public institutions, which are in this locality. The 
Avenida Rangel Pestana, extends from the centre of the city eastward, passing through the 
busy district of Braz and by the Largo da Concordia, with its interesting market place. 
In the southern district, the Rua da Liberdade, Rua Santo Amaro, and Rua da Consolacdo 


AVENIDA PAULISTA, SAO PAULO. 


lead to the magnificent Avenida Paulista, the most beautiful boulevard of the capital, on 
which some of the handsomest residences are located. The Avenida is adorned by 
hundreds of shade trees, is paved with asphalt, as is all the modern part of the capital, and 
lighted by electricity, with which the entire city is so well supplied. Near one extremity of 
the Avenida is the Jardim da Acclimagdo, or botanical garden, and from the other may be 
seen the charming suburban Villa Cerquiera Cesar. 

The suburbs of Sao Paulo are picturesque in scenery and attractive in the variety and 
elegance of their many handsome residences. A drive out to Santa Cecilia and Palmeiras, 
along the beautiful Rua das Palmeiras, or to Villa Buarque and Hygienopolis, is a charming 
passeio. Here several of the millionaires of Sao Paulo have palatial homes, unsurpassed in 
splendor and luxury by the great mansions of Europe. At Hygienopolis is the beautiful 
home of Count de Penteado, and a number of other handsome villas. This part of the city 


SAO PAULO 213 


is almost entirely occupied by residences of wealthy Paulistas, and its broad driveways and 
shaded promenades make it one of the city’s most popular suburban districts. 

Counsellor Antonio Prado is now the Prefect of Sdo Paulo. It was by invitation of this 
distinguished Paulista that Secretary Root visited Sao Paulo during his stay in Brazil. He 
was handsomely entertained by the Sao Paulo people; and one of the most elegant and 
beautiful homes of the capital, the Palacete Chaves, was placed at his disposal through the 
gracious hospitality of 
Senhora Anesia da Silva 
Prado e Chaves. The 
Palacete Carvalho, the 
residence of the Prefect, 
is one of the. largest 
and most imposing of 
the many stately homes 
of Sao Paulo. The pro- 
gressive spirit shown 
in every department of 
the municipal govern- 
ment under the direction 
of Counsellor Antonio 
Prado, is the reflection 
of that eminent states- 
man’s genius and patri- 
otism. The indefatigable 
energy necessary to ac- 
complish all the im- 
provements which have 
taken place during his 
administration is re- 
markable. Sado Paulo 
is to-day a thoroughly 
modern metropolis, with 
rapid transit, electric 
light and power, and miles of asphalt pavements, its broad avenues presenting an animated 
appearance during the favorite hours of recreation, when a great many smart equipages, 
automobiles, etc., are to be seen. Along with these material advantages the best conditions 
prevail for the health and happiness of a great community. 

The sanitation of the city is under the supervision of the Secretary of the Interior, 
Dr. Gustavo de Godoy, who gives it constant and careful attention. The management of 
this branch of his department is in the hands of a Board of Sanitary Service, which is 


RUA SAO BENTO, A BUSY THOROUGHFARE OF SAO PAULO. 


214 LHE NEW BRAZIL 


organized for the scientific study of all questions relating to public health; to the nature, 
cause, treatment, and prevention of contagious diseases; to the best methods for securing 
defensive and preventative safeguards 
against disease by sanitary vigilance, 
hospital aid, isolation, and disinfection ; 
and to medical and pharmaceutical 
inspection. In the various institu- 
tions which are conducted under the 
management of the Board, every 
possible phase of the question of 
public health receives especial care 
and study. The Bacteriological In- 
stitute is organized, as the name im- 
plies, for the purpose of studying 
bacteriology in general; but its par- 
ticular object is to find out the causes 
of the epidemic, endemic, and epizootic 
diseases most frequently occurring in 
A MODERN OFFICE BUILDING, SAO PAULO. the State, and to make microscopic 
examinations when necessary to aid 
in clinical diagnoses. In the Laboratory of Analysis all food products, drugs, medical pre- 
parations, and everything of this character which affects the public health, are analysed, 
thus providing against harmful adulterations. The Vaccinogenic and Serumtherapic Insti- 
tutes prepare and distribute the vaccine to be used against smallpox, and the serums which 
are so efficacious in counteracting pests and similar evils. A pharmaceutical laboratory is 
supported by the Board, in which prescriptions are filled, drugs and disinfectants supplied 
to public establishments, and ambulances prepared for use in the interior of the State. 
Lazarettos, or pest hospitals, are maintained for the treatment of infectious diseases, and 
a complete and thoroughly modern disinfecting service has charge of the hygiene of all 
places in which such diseases have been found. Vaccination is obligatory, and many 
people are vaccinated daily in the central office, while sanitary inspectors perform this duty 
in the districts over which they preside. In the central office there is a room set apart for 
the inspection of wet nurses and also for the treatment of nursing infants of paupers, in 
which daily consultations are given free of charge. In accordance with a government decree 
issued in 1906 the whole State has been divided into fourteen sanitary districts under 
inspectors, forming a complete sanitary police service of the highest efficiency. ; 

Not only has the State a wonderful system of sanitary service, but this is supplemented 
by similar enterprises, supported partly by the government and partly by private philan- 
thropy. The Pasteur Institute of S40 Paulo is one of the most notable institutions of Brazil. 
It was founded in 1903 by a few philanthropic men, who were aided in their noble purpose 


SAO PAULO 215 


by a public subscription, which, added to their individual contributions, provided a fund of 
about ten thousand dollars gold for its establishment and maintenance. The Institute is 
now supported by a subsidy from 
the Federal government, a State sub- 
sidy, by private gifts, and by the sale 
of its products. Although only three 
years old, more than one thousand 
two hundred patients have been 
treated without a single failure. In 
addition to inoculation against rabies, 
the Institute prepares anti-diphtheric, 
anti-tetanic, and other serums, makes 
a special study. of tropical diseases, 
and has classes in the study of bac- 
teriology as applied to medicine and 
hygiene. Dr. A. Carini, a professor 
from Berne University, Switzerland, A PICTURESQUE SCENE IN THE JARDIM DA LUZ, SAO. PAULO. 

is the director, assisted by three Bra- 

zilian physicians. A great deal of original work has been done in the Institute laboratory, 
some of which has attracted the attention of foreign scientists. 

The benefits of a perfect sanitary condition of the city, and special attention to the 
health of the people, have made the citizens themselves more careful in the construction of 
their homes to provide good ventilation and drainage, and to seek the protection offered by 
the State in cases of infection. There is entire sympathy with the efforts of the authori- 
ties; the desire to promote the general welfare is a particular characteristic of Sao Paulo 
people and they greet new improvements with interest and appreciation, which is an import- 
ant feature in municipal advancement. Among other modern conveniences, Sado Paulo has 
complete telephone communication, not only in the capital but with the seaport of Santos, 
and with many of the fazendas in the 
interior. The mail delivery is well es- 
tablished, and the city has the best 
uniformed district messenger Service 
in Brazil. 

There are several manufacturing 
industries in S40 Paulo, among others 

THE VACCINE INSTITUTE, SAO PAULO. a factory producing the finest quality 
of crystal and cut glass. Three paper 
factories have grown into prosperous conditions since the inauguration of the republic, 


and there are several spinning, jute, and cotton mills, as well as foundries and other 
enterprises. 


216 THEGNEYWA BRAZIL 


In the intellectual development of Sao Paulo, nothing has been neglected which could 
advance the interests of social culture. The Instituto Historico e Geographico of Sao Paulo 
is affiliated with leading scientific societies of Europe and America in study and research. 
The Society of Ethnography and Civilization of the Indians is devoting attention to studies 
especially relating to the ethnology and anthropology of Brazil, to which some of its distin- 
guished members have devoted careful and extended research. The Centre of Science, 
Literature and Art, of Campinas, is one of the important institutions of the State. Indeed, 
there is no branch of intellectual activity, in which the people of Sado Paulo have not 
contributed something to the archives of their country. 

The Geographical and Geological Commission of So Paulo has done service of particular 
importance, not only to science, but to the more material interests of the State. Through 

arrangement by the govern- 
ment, and under the direc- 
tion of the distinguished chief 
_ of the Commission, Dr. Jodo 
Pedro Cardoso, explorations 
and surveys have recently been 
made in the extreme west of 
the State, and important knowl- 
edge has been gained of its 
geography and geology, of the 
character of the soil, the mineral 
resources of the country, and 
the possibilities of economic 
development. A botanical gar- 
den has been established in 
GATEWAY TO THE QUARTEL, SAO PAULO. connection with the work of 
the Commission, in which are 
exhibited specimens of the flora and fauna of the republic. Experiments in the culture of 
various plants are made in its nurseries and conservatories, and the Commission recently 
introduced a department of pisciculture. About a hundred specimens of carp were brought 
from the United States, of which thirteen arrived in perfect condition and were placed in 
the tank of the garden. A meteorological service has been installed, which is doing excel- 
lent work, and the Commission has placed at the service of the public a valuable library of 
works on natural science. 

The amount of money spent by the government of Sao Paulo in the interest of science 
is greater than that of any other State of the Union. Every year a great number of 
pamphlets are distributed by the Secretary of Agriculture to all parts of the State, containing 
information and instruction on a great variety of industrial matters. About forty newspapers 
and magazines are published regularly in the capital, and nearly three hundred in the various 


SAO PAULO 217 


towns of the State. Every town has its public library, and the number of readers in Sao 
Paulo exceeds that in any other State of Brazil. Next to the Federal capital, Sao Paulo has 
the greatest number of book stores and the largest book sales in the republic. Its people 
are generally well informed on the topics of the day both at home and abroad, as the daily 
newspapers are supplied with associated press dispatches from all over the world. 

Among the distinguished names which are preserved in the archives of the nation as 
worthy of immortal memory are many belonging to noble Paulistas. The great patriot, 
José Bonifacio de Andrada, was born in this State, which also gave to Brazil the renowned 
statesman, Antonio Diogo Feij6, regent of the empire during the minority of Dom Pedro II., 
and more popularly known by his ecclesiastical title, Father Feijo. He was a successful 


RESIDENCE OF COUNT ALVARES PENTEADO, SAO PAULO. 


public leader, and began his career as a priest and a teacher in the towns of Campinas and 
Ita, in the State of Sao Paulo, where he was born. His first entrance into the arena of 
politics was made when he was elected Deputy from Sao Paulo to the Cortes at Lisbon, in 
1821, where he attracted attention by a powerful and fearless speech in defence of Brazilian 
rights. He was afterward elected to the national legislature of Brazil, taking his seat among 
the members of the Liberal opposition. At the first session, he created a sensation by 
proposing the abolition of clerical celibacy, and the next year published his reasons in a 
pamphlet on the subject. He was appointed regent of the empire in 1835, the highest office 
in the government at that time, refusing, on the day before this appointment, the bishopric 
of Marianna. When Vasconcellos deserted the Liberals, and formed the new Conservative 
party opposed to the regency, he attacked Father Feijo with the most powerful weapons 


218 THE NEW BRAZIL 


of the parliament and the press, and the regent resigned, rather than compromise in any 
particular under the pressure put upon him, and retired to Sdo Paulo, where he died in 1843. 
Carlos Gomes, the composer, was born in this State, as were the noted botanist, Joaquim 
Corréa de Mello, and the poet, Manoel A. Alvares de Azevedo. Three presidents of the 
republic, Dr. Prudente Moraes, Dr. Campos-Salles, and Dr. Rodrigues Alves, first learned 
the principles of patsiotism in a Sdo Paulo home. It was in this State that the propagandists 
of republicanism made their most ardent campaign, the Convention of Itu, which was held 
in 1873, marking the initial step toward the accomplishment of the great purpose that found 
its final triumph in the national event of November 15, 1889. 


SANTA CECILIA, A SUBURB OF SAO PAULO. 


» 
here. 
ee Oe 


PARK OF THE EPISCOPAL SEMINARY, SAO PAULO. 


CHAPTER XII 


SCHOOLS AND CHARITIES OF SAO PAULO 


DR. GUSTAVO DE GODOY, SECRETARY OF THE 
INTERIOR, SAO PAULO. 


N no State of the Brazilian Union has the 
question of education received greater 
attention than in Sado Paulo, where the 
schools are conducted according to a thor- 
oughly modern system of instruction, from 
the kindergarten to the university. The 
State government has always made this 
department the object of especial zeal and 
solicitude; and within the past few years, a 
remarkable impulse has been given to pop- 
ular education, which has been productive 
of notable results. 

Under the present administration, im- 
provements have been introduced and bene- 
ficial methods adopted in every branch of 
instruction, with the constant approval of the 
public. Not only are all the schools attended 
to their full capacity, but the demand for 
such institutions is so urgent that the gov- 
ernment has deemed it necessary to levy a 
special tax for the formation of an educational 


fund in order to meet the growing necessities of public instruction. New preliminary 
schools have recently been established; “single,” or ungraded, schools, and “school groups,” 
or graded schools, have been installed in the capital and in the towns of the interior; the 
Sao Joao group in the capital, and those of Cacapava, Avaré, Cambucy, Porto Feliz, and 
Capivary in the interior, are among the recent acquisitions. An adequate system of 
instruction has been arranged for these institutions, with a programme of studies which 


221 


222 THE NEW BRAZIL 


is practicable and suited to their special needs; a new school for secondary instruction 
has been recently opened, the Gymnasium of Ribeirao Preto; better school organization has 
been accomplished, and a more Suitable classification made of separate or ungraded schools. 

The system of public education in Brazil is divided into primary, secondary, and 
superior instruction. In Sao Paulo, primary instruction consists of two courses, preliminary 
and complementary; preliminary training is given in ungraded schools, in night schools, in 
graded schools, and in the model school. Ungraded schools are established in every locality 
which has from twenty to forty children of school age, as many of this kind being installed 
as necessary, with a proportion of forty pupils in each. When a locality has more than two 
schools, well attended, these may be taught in the same building, with the name of “united 
schools.” There are in the State of Sdo Paulo about four thousand ungraded schools for 
both sexes. 

In order to provide the blessings of instruction to a class who from poverty or neglect 
have grown up to adult age without learning to read and write, the State has established 
night schools in all places where a probable attendance of thirty adult pupils may be 
secured; in localities where there are factories, these schools have proved a great benefit; in 
the factory towns both day and night schools are conducted for the instruction of boys and 
girls. Fortunately, the government has not yet had to face the terrible problem of child 
labor which is so seriously occupying the attention of educators in the crowded cities of 
Europe and North America. But if that day come, there is no doubt that the government 
of Sao Paulo will be prepared to meet it successfully, as every administration brings forward 
some measure calculated to afford better protection to the helpless poor and to defenceless 
childhood. 

Graded schools, or school groups, as they are called in Brazil, are formed in every locality 
in which the school census shows that there are two hundred pupils of each sex; towns 
of considerable population may have two or more school groups. In the various towns and 
cities of the State there are seventy-seven school groups, sixteen of which are in the capital, 
and two in each of the cities of Santos, Campinas, Jundiahy, Amparo, and Piracicaba. 
The new Escola de Moraes Barros in Piracicaba is a handsome modern institution. 

Model Schools are conducted in connection with the Normal School, and serve as the 
type, or model, for school groups as to organization, methods, and plans of teaching. Their 
especial object is to afford practical experience in teaching and in school management to the 
pupils of the Normal School. The Model Schools of the districts of Braz and Luz, as well 
as those in the more central part of the city, are installed in large and commodious buildings. 
It is both interesting and entertaining to visit these Model Schools and to see the children at 
their lessons, which they seem to enjoy thoroughly and to have great facility in learning. 
Brazilian children are, as a rule, very teachable and are easily disciplined through an appeal 
to their self-respect and dignity. In aid of their ready acquisition of knowledge they possess 
a wonderful command of language in expressing their ideas. ~The course of training in the 
preliminary classes extends over four years. In ungraded schools and night classes, the year 


SCHOOLS AND CHARITIES OF SAO PAULO 2 


i) 
ww 


begins on January 25th and closes on December 23d; in the school groups and the Model 
Schools, the school year lasts from February rst to November 30th. The “Seminario de 


EPISCOPAL SEMINARY, SAO PAULO. 


Educandas”’ is the name given to a boarding school for destitute orphan girls which is 
maintained by the government for the protection, instruction, and moral training of these 
unfortunate children. In this excellent institution they are brought up with proper care, 
and are taught the domestic duties appropriate to their sex and condition. 

In a beautiful building, which occupies a favored locality on the extensive grounds of 
the State Normal School, the Jardim da Infancia, or kindergarten of Sado Paulo is established. 
It is annexed to the Normal School, and is under the direction of the teachers of that 
institution. Two hundred children of both sexes, from four to six years of age, receive 
daily instruction here, according to the Froebel system of kindergarten training. It is one 
of the best equipped institutions of the capital and is equal to the best of its kind in Europe 
or America. The school rooms are perfectly fitted up for the accommodation of their 
small occupants. 

The complementary course of primary instruction is given in what are called comple- 
mentary schools, and is equivalent to a primary normal course. Pupils of both sexes. are 
trained in these institutions, the course requiring four years of practical training. There are 
five complementary, or primary normal, schools in the State, one in each of the cities of Sao 
Paulo, Piracicaba, Campinas, Itapetininga and Guaratingueta. Each of these has its library, 
cabinet of physics, chemical laboratory and collections of natural history. 

Overlooking the beautiful Praga da Republica and occupying a whole square in the 
central part of the city, the Normal School of Sao Paulo is in appearance the most imposing 


224 THE NEW BRAZIL 


educational institution of the capital. It was founded during the administration of Dr. 
Prudente Moraes, and has proved of invaluable service in the training of teachers for the 
various schools of the State. The normal course extends over four years, the practical 
teaching beginning each year on the 1st of March and ending on the 30th of November. 
The spacious rooms of this school are airy and well ventilated, the furniture is of the most 
convenient and modern design; everything is arranged in such a way as to facilitate the 
teacher’s work, and the various departments are fitted up with all that a teacher requires, 
either for study or practice. The library contains more than twelve thousand volumes, 
there is a cabinet of physics and one of natural history, a chemical laboratory, and a 
pedagogical museum; rooms are provided for manual work, for the storage of teaching 
apparatus, and for gymnastic and military exercises. Probably no Normal School in 
America is better equipped or more handsomely installed than the Sao Paulo school, which 
calls forth the admiration of all educators who visit it. 

Secondary instruction is given in three institutions which are supported by the State; 
the gymnasium of the capital, the gymnasium of Campinas and the gymnasium of Ribeirdo 
Preto. The course in a gymnasium of Brazil is equivalent to that of an English grammar 
school or an American high school. The course covers six years and the yearly term 
begins April 15th and closes December 15th. The graduate of this school receives the 
degree or diploma of Bachelor of Sciences and Letters, which entitles him to matriculate in 
any of the schools for superior instruction. The gymnasiums are provided with libraries, 
cabinets of physics, and of natural history, a chemical laboratory and materials. 


NORMAL SCHOOL SAO PAULO. 


For superior instruction, the Faculty of Law of Sao Paulo is maintained by the Federal 
government and the Polytechnic School is supported out of the funds of the State. 


SCHOOLS AND CHARITIES OF SAO PAULO 225 


The law course covers five years, the yearly period of instruction being from the 1st of 
April to the 14th of November. The graduate receives the degree of Doctor of Legal and 


KINDERGARTEN, SAO PAULO. 


Social Science, entitling him to pursue the career of lawyer, magistrate, public minister, 
notary, diplomatic official or consular representative. The faculty possesses a most valuable 
library, of nearly fifty thousand volumes, which is free to the public. An academic review 
is published by the faculty annually. 

The Polytechnic School of Sao Paulo is the pride of the State, and its graduates are 
constantly attaining prominent positions at home and abroad, as a result of the splendid 
system of training which is here given. Instruction is provided in two fundamental and 
nine special courses, beginning each year on the 1st of September and closing on the 31st of 
May. The diplomas conferred on the graduates of this institution are recognized officially 
throughout the republic. A new course in electricity has recently been added to the 
curriculum of studies. The school is equipped with all necessary cabinets, laboratories, 
machinery, apparatus, instruments, specimens and utensils required for practical instruction 
in the various courses. It is provided also with a “field for experiment,” in which practical 
teaching is given in agronomics. An excellent review is published annually by the school, 
called the “Annuario da Escola Polytechnica de Sao Paulo.” ) 

In connection with popular education, the State maintains a public library, in which are 
many valuable scientific and literary works of great merit, as well as a number of maps, 
charts, manuscripts, and periodicals. The collection embraces about fifty thousand volumes. 


226 TH EANEVEBRAZIL 


Besides the library, a gallery of paintings is owned by the State, and kept open for the 
public. The Paulista museum, installed at Ypiranga, which was referred to in a previous 
chapter, has recently added specimens of world-wide interest to its ethnographic and 
archeologic collections, which are of extraordinary value. A review of the museum has 
been published annually for the past six years. 

The Lyceum of Arts and Crafts, which occupies a spacious building on the east side of 
the magnificent Jardim Publico, is one of the many important educational institutions of the 
State which devote especial attention to practical instruction for the laboring classes. In 
this school all the trades are taught, such as tailoring, shoemaking, carpenter’s work, the 
work of foundries, machine shops, etc., as well as printing, bookbinding and similar crafts. 

Closely identified in purpose and in practice are the educational and charitable institu- 
tions of the State. In addition to the schools maintained by the government there are 
many establishments of in- 
struction, primary, Secondary, 
and superior, which are sup- 
ported by philanthropic individ- 
uals and benevolent societies, 
as well as by religious orders. 
Among these, the Associacado 
Feminina Beneficente e In- 
Sstructiva is particularly worthy 
of mention, as it maintains 
about fifty primary schools. 
It has also in charge a lyceum 
for. girls, a refuge for fallen 
women, a creche for the chil- 

PRUDENTE MORAES SCHOOL, SAO PAULO. , dren of poor working women, 

a printing office, and workshops 

for seamstresses and flower venders. The wide scope of this institution, which is both 
educational and charitable, makes it one of the greatest powers for good in the State. 

The Collegio D. Carolina Tamandaré, and the Instituto D. Anna Rosa, have similar 
purposes, nobly seeking to elevate the poor and abandoned children of misfortune, by 
giving them shelter, providing for their moral and mental training, and preparing them to 
earn an honest living and to become worthy citizens. The Salesian fathers maintain a 
lyceum for the primary and technical instruction of poor boys, which provides for both 
boarding and day pupils. 

Mackenzie College, which is one of the important educational establishments of Sao 
Paulo, is a North American institution, maintained under the direction of Dr. Horace Lane, 
who has lived many years in Sao Paulo, and has had the satisfaction of seeing a number 
of the graduates of this college fill positions of the greatest prominence in their own and 


SCHOOLS AND CHARITIES OF SAO PAULO 710%} 


foreign countries. The Escola Americana, of Piracicaba, is also a North American school, 
in which the method of instruction taught by the Normal Schools of the United States has 


been successfully practised for 
more than twenty years. 

The Episcopal Seminary, 
which stands on the corner of 
the square facing the Jardim 
Publico, is one of the beautiful 
edifices of Sao Paulo. It Is 
dedicated to the purpose of 
preparing candidates for an 
ecclesiastical career; annexed 
to the seminary is the Dioc- 
esan College, of secondary in- 
struction, for the study of the 


POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL, SAO PAULO, 


liberal arts, but which also furnishes a course in primary training. A practical school of 
commerce and a free school of pharmacy are among the useful institutions for training in 
business and professional knowledge. Besides these there are, in the State, innumerable 


MODEL SCHOOL OF BRAZ, SAO PAULO. 


private schools and colleges, among others, the Gymnasio Macedo Soares, Collegio Modelo 
Inglez, Hyde-Croft College, Gymnasio de S4o Bento, Instituto de Sciencias e Letras, Asylo 


228 THEENEW BRAZIL 


Sao Jodo, Externato Vautier, Orphanato Christovam Colombo, Abrigo Santa Maria, Exter- 
nato Sao José, Collegio de Sido, Kingston College, Orphanato de Santa Anna, Asylo de 
Orphans do Ypiranga (in the Capital); Collegio de Sao Luiz and Collegio do Patrocinio, in 
Ytu; Collegio Nossa Senhora do Carmo and Collegio Sado José, in Guaratingueta; Collegio 
Sao Joaquim, in Lorena; Gymnasio Nogueira da Gama, in Jacarehy; Atheneu Jahuense, in 
Jahu; Escola do Povo, in Sao Vicente, etc. 

The government of Sao Paulo is not only liberal in the matter of education, for which 
millions are spent every year,—the department of primary instruction alone costing more 
than two million dollars gold, annually,—but the interests of the poor and the helpless also 
receive especial care and generous attention. The Insane Asylum, of Juquery, near the city 


at ee 
BU igi aha 


COLLEGE OF LAW, SAO PAULO. 


of Sado Paulo, is established on the most liberal basis, and according to the best system 
known to science for the treatment of the insane. It occupies a large and commodious 
building, and is conducted in the manner of an asylum colony, having a farm in con- 
nection with it, where the patients have employment out of doors, and at the same time 
receive the mental benefits derived from occupation. Those for whom farm work is not 
Suitable, have lighter employment in the fruit and flower gardens which belong to the 
asylum. Women are employed in the kitchen and the laundry. In addition to the general 
division into male and female wards, the asylum is also arranged so that the various 
grades of lunatics are separated and cared for according to individual needs. Those 
who are less violent are allowed as much freedom as possible, and all the patients are 


SCHOOLS AND CHARITIES OF SAO PAULO 229 


taken daily into the open air for exercise and to enjoy the restorative effects of sunlight 
and nature’s glorious scenery. The situation of the asylum is picturesque and healthful. 
The Maternity Hospital, which is beautifully installed in a handsome modern building, 
near the Avenida Paulista, is another useful 
charity protected by the government and 
noted for the admirable condition in which 
it is maintained, the excellent management 
given to its affairs, and the great value of the 
services rendered. The Military Hospital, 
located in the vicinity of the quartel, in the 
Luz district, provides for the care of ill and 
wounded soldiers. The hospital and the 
spacious grounds surrounding it occupy a 
large square near the picturesque Jardim 
Publico, in which its convalescents may 
frequently be seen enjoying a promenade. | MORAES BARROS SCHOOL, SAO PAULO. 
Under the name of “ Dispensarios,” the 
government maintains sanatory offices, or posfos, in various places, for the treatment of 
consumptives of the poorest class. The dispensarios “Clemente Ferreira” and ‘“‘ Dr. Claudio 
de Souza” are two of the most important of these institutions. The Minister of Interior 
is giving particular attention, and with gratifying success, to the eradication of a troublesome 
disease which. was brought over from Europe about twenty years ago, called trachites 
(conjunctivitis granulosis), and which spread over the interior towns. The chief feature 
of the malady is, as its name indicates, a granular formation in the eyes which causes 
great inflammation. It rarely assumes a chronic form, and under the present systematic 
measures of combating the 
evil, it is rapidly disappearing. 
The Sociedade de Bene- 
ficencia Portugueza, is one of 
the most important charitable 
organizations of the State, ma- 
terially aiding the government 
in the care of the poor and 
destitute in all the principal 
ot oS ne towns. In the capital, a Portu- 
MACKENZIE COLLEGE, SAO PAULO. guese hospital has been estab- 
lished with the funds of this 
society; it occupies a large modern building in the central district, and is equipped with 
the latest appliances for hospital service, and provides accommodation for hundreds of 
patients annually. The Hospital Umberto I. is maintained by the Italian residents. It is 


230 i TALANEI ABRAZO 


a spacious and handsomely constructed edifice, situated near the Avenida Paulista, in the 
picturesque western district of the city. 

The Santa Casa da Misericordia is the oldest charitable institution of the State and the 
most celebrated for the noble benefactions which it has rendered to the suffering and 
unfortunate. Not only are patients received in this hospital and its branches in every part 
of the State, but they are admitted also from neighboring states. The history of this 
remarkable charity is almost as ancient as that of the capital, and its benefactions are 
recorded in old books and manuscripts dating back to the seventeenth century. In 1825 
the hospital was installed in a chacara in the Rua da Gloria, where it remained until trans- 
ferred to the present site,a few years ago. This stately edifice, which covers an entire 
Square in the picturesque Villa Buarque, on the avenue leading to Hygienopolis, is the 


MISERICORDIA HOSPITAL, SAO PAULO. 


largest hospital in the State, and one of the largest in Brazil. The average number of 
patients treated daily in the Santa Casa da Misericordia is between five hundred and fifty 
and six hundred, and the demand for accommodation being greater than the. institution 
can supply, it is probable the building will be still further enlarged. In the Foundling 
Asylum, which is connected with the hospital and its farm colonies, about three hundred 
children are being cared for; the Santa Casa provides for and educates these little ones, 
keeping them until they are old enough to go out to service. A comparison between the 
expenses of the institution in 1874, when they amounted to 28,000 milreis, and in 1904 when 
the disbursement was 722,000 milreis, affords an idea of the increasing usefulness of this 
great charity. The Santa Casa da Misericordia was founded by the Sisters of Mercy, and 
is still maintained by them, with such aid as the benevolent public render in the form of 
donations. The medical staff of the hospital includes the most skilful and scientific 


SCHOOLS MAND CAARI IES 


surgeons and physicians of the State. The director 
of the hospital clinic is Dr. Arnaldo Vieira de Car- 
valho, who is also president of the Society of Physi- 
cians and Surgeons of Sao Paulo. Dr. Vieira has 
achieved considerable distinction in Europe through 
his successful surgical operations, especially in gas- 
troectomy, in which he made the third and most 
notable on record, his patient living for two years 
after the removal of the stomach. The administra- 
tion of the Santa Casa is under the direction of 
Dr. Alberto da Silva e Souza, to whose manage- 
ment is due the admirable system that prevails in 
every department of the large establishment. A 
Statement of the hospital for the year 1906 shows 
that, out of seven thousand two hundred and sixty- 


OF ASAOUPAULO 231 


CORRIDOR OF MISERICORDIA HOSPITAL, 
SAO PAULO. 


nine patients brought to the hospital during the year, one hundred and fifty-one entered in 
a dying condition, one hundred and sixteen were in an advanced state of tuberculosis, and 
ninety-four per cent of the remaining cases were cured. 

Many of the church societies support charities for the poor, the aged and infirm, and 
helpless children. The Samaritan Hospital, the Asylum of the Good Shepherd, the Asylum 
for Foundlings, and other institutions aré beautiful evidences of the kind hearts and open 
hands which are constantly ready to meet and answer the appeal of charity. 

Progress in a nation may be measured in a great degree by the character and develop- 
ment of its schools and charities. As the home is the chief bulwark of the State, the school 
is the great elevating and improving influence upon the home. Without the refining power 


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Fat 


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INSANE ASYLUM AT JUQUERY, SAO PAULO. 


THE NEW BRAZIL 


Ww 
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of education, the family degenerates, and through the family the nation. But where schools 
flourish and children grow up in an atmosphere of mental culture the national vigor is 
stimulated and increasing strength assured. It is always an encouraging sign when the 
government of a country is seriously occupied with the question of educational advance- 
ment. Scarcely less important than its schools as an index to the real spirit and genuine 
worth of a people is the attitude of the State toward its poor and helpless wards.  Institu- 
tions of charity, hospitals, asylums for the aged and infirm, indicate the humanitarian 
principles that guide the noble and great of all times and conditions. Without schools and 
charities, civilization would remain a weak and ill-nourished infant, incapable of sturdy 
growth or development. More especially since the inauguration of the republic has the 
government of Sado Paulo devoted unremitting attention to the interests of education and 
the improvement of charitable institutions under State protection. Recognizing the neces- 
Sity for increasing the opportunities offered to the poorer classes for a useful and practical 
training during childhood, before they are forced to take a place among wage-earners, and 
to begin the struggle for self-support, and realizing the importance of sheltering the unfortu- 
nate and invalid poor, it has been the constant aim of the successive administrations to build 
up and thoroughly equip the educational and charitable institutions, which are the pride and 
honor of the State. 


MILITARY HOSPITAL, SAO PAULO. 


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AGRICULTURE AND COLONIZATION IN SAO PAULO 


HE State of Sao Paulo possesses every advan- 
tage that nature can bestow to make it the 
richest agricultural country of the globe. A favorable 
geographical position, a healthful and an invigorating 
climate, an extremely fertile soil, and a magnificent 
river system combine to constitute it an ideal land 
of natural production. In coffee growing, the indus- 
try which has received special attention, this State 
has excelled all competitors, so completely that they 
might drop out of the race without their absence being 
felt in the markets of the world. And as the people 
are now more generally also devoting their energy 
and enterprise to other branches of agriculture, it is 
safe to predict that, within a few years, the records 
of foreign trade will show important statements re- 
aa garding Sao Paulo’s exports of sugar, cotton, tobacco, 
PIRACICABA CASCADE, SAO PAULO. rice, cocoa, wine, and fruits. At present the cultiva- 

tion of the sugar cane is developing with greatest 

success in that part of the State which lies within the Tropic of Capricorn, especially in the 
central region around Piracicaba, and farther north, in the section of which Ribeirao Preto is 
the chief centre. It is also a very profitable industry in the southeastern section within the 
tropics, along the course of the Parahyba River. South of the tropical line, which crosses 
the State, passing through the city of Sao Paulo, very little sugar is cultivated, though it 
grows exuberantly wherever planted in the coast district, and especially along the course of 
the Ribeira de Iguape and its tributaries. On the plateau west of the Serra do Mar, the land 
is not so suitable for sugar culture, but is particularly adapted to cattle raising, as it embraces 


some of the best pasture lands of the State. Although so little attention has been given to 
235 


236 THE NEW BRAZIL 


sugar planting in the coast region, the largest plantations being located along the course of 
the great tributaries of the Parana and their affluents, yet the future promises immense 
wealth from the sugar cane of the coast, when this district shall be made to yield the 
enormous harvests which the favorable conditions of its soil and climate make possible. 
A great advantage in the establishment of large sugar plantations and refineries in the coast 
district lies in the greater facilities afforded for export, as there are good harbors all along 
the coast, where ships of considerable tonnage can enter. 

But although sugar growing has never received the full attention it deserves, it is not 
a recently established industry, since history records that as early as 1533 Martim Affonso 
de Souza planted, on the island of Sado Vicente, near Santos, sugar cane brought from 
Madeira, and established there the first sugar mill in Brazil. The culture of sugar began to 
be neglected, as were all other branches of agriculture except coffee, when the latter became 
the source of the State’s greatest wealth. Only within recent years has the production of 
sugar been given increased attention and value. 

In Piracicaba, which has one of the largest sugar nlantauone of the State, a company 
with the imposing title of the “Companhia Niagara Paulista” was founded in 1883 by the 
Baron de Rezende, for the purpose of using the falls of Piracicaba as the motive force fora 
sugar mill. The company cultivated large plantations with great success, obtaining as their 
first harvest eight thousand tons of cane. Fourteen years later the harvest reached twenty- 
one thousand tons, under the management of Dr. Cicero Bastos, who greatly improved the 
value of the lands by advancing funds to the colonists for the purchase of good implements 
and machinery. As a result of his liberal policy, the Piracicaba farmers prospered greatly, 
many of them being able, in a few years, to purchase their farms. In 1900, the company 
transferred its interests to a French syndicate, and the property is now owned by its 
representative, the Companhia Assucareira de Piracicaba, with a capital of half a million 
dollars gold, having headquarters in Paris. The sugar lands of this company are situated 
at an average altitude of about one thousand and eight hundred feet above sea-level, the 
plantation of Santa Roza, which produces in one field as much as forty-eight tons to the 
acre, being the most fertile. Few sugar plantations are capable of producing more than 
forty-eight to fifty tons to the acre, even with the most careful cultivation. 

The sugar plantations of Piracicaba are cultivated almost exclusively by colonists, about 
eight hundred families, chiefly Italians, being supported by this industry. They receive 
their houses gratis; but as the five hundred or more which the company own are not 
sufficient to meet the increasing demand, each new colonist is given the materials for con- 
structing his house, which shall belong to the company in case of his leaving the colony. 
It is the rule in this colony to plant in August and September, and if the growth is advanced 
by a few heavy rains, and continues favorable until the rainy season of November, the 
harvest may be gathered within the year, though such quick growth does not produce 
the sweetest sugar. The process of planting is simple. The first step is the clearing 
of the matta, or wooded land, then the irrigating furrows are hoed, and the cane is planted; 


AGRICOLTORE AND COLONIZATION IN SAO PAULO 237) 


in the cultivation of lands already cleared, the farmers use ploughs and other implements 
which best serve their purpose. The company has about twenty miles of railway for the 
transportation of the cane to the mill. More than half a million litres of aguardente 
(alcohol) are manufactured annually in the engenho, or sugar mill, of Piracicaba. 

The centre of this industry, the beautiful and picturesque little city of Piracicaba, is one 
of the most important of the State. It occupies an attractive site on the banks of the 
Piracicaba river, a branch of the Tieté, and possesses the most salubrious and healthful 
climate imaginable. One of the chief features of its charming scenery is the cascade, which 
offers a special attraction to those who seek this lovely spot for health or pleasure. The 
name “Pira-ci-caba” is of Indian origin and means “the fish stops here;” and it is not 


CLASS AT WORK, SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE, PIRACICABA. 


inappropriate, as the river abounds in fish of the most delicate flavor. The population of 
the municipality is about thirty-five thousand; the city has many beautiful parks and 
pragas, churches, schools and hospitals. It is situated on the main line of the Sao Paulo 
railway and has daily communication with the capital and the port of Santos. It is the 
home of some of Brazil’s most distinguished men, and was the birthplace of the first civil 
president of Brazil, Dr. José Prudente de Moraes. Near Piracicaba the plantation and 
factory of Monte Alegre are situated. Both sugar and aguardente are manufactured from 
the product of the fazenda. 

The newly awakened interest in sugar culture has been practically demonstrated by 
the establishment of engenhos in various sections within the past few years. One 


238 DHERNEVV SB ied 21. 


of the most important of these enterprises is the London Engenho, the property of 
Dr. Henrique Dumont, which is located on the left margin of the Rio Pardo, about fifteen 


A PINEAPPLE PLANTATION IN THE STATE OF SAO PAULO. 


miles from the station of Santos Dumont on the Mogyana railway. The sugar produced in 
this section is of an excellent quality, some of the lower and more fertile fields growing 
cane ten feet in height. Three thousand acres are planted in sugar cane on the London 
fazenda, the greater part of which is newly cleared land. About thirty thousand tons were 
harvested last year. A large quantity of aguardente is made in the London factory, and 
this product, as well as the sugar, is sold direct to consumers by the travelling agents 
of the establishment. 

The sugar factory of Funil, which is one of the most recent acquisitions to the industry, 
was established in 1905, and has already contributed largely to the sugar statistics of Sado 
Paulo. The fazenda of Funil is situated a few miles distant from Campinas, in the central 
part of the State; it covers nearly twice as much territory as the Piracicaba fazendas, and 
is the most extensive in southern Brazil, comprising about twenty-five thousand acres. 
Senores Nogueira, the proprietors of this enterprise, are making patriotic efforts to encourage 
the culture of sugar by offering large premiums in money for the delivery of quantities 
greater than five hundred tons of cane, to be treated in their engenho, the prize for five 
thousand tons being 4ooo milreis, equivalent to about thirteen hundred dollars gold. Their 
sugar factory is constructed according to the best modern ideas, and fitted up with the newest 
models of machinery, all of which is served by electric motive force, generated by means 
of a turbine wheel, which a neighboring cascade keeps in motion. Not all of their vast 


AGRICULTURE AND COLONIZATION IN SAO PAULO 239 


fazenda is yet planted, but the work is progressing satisfactorily on what promises to be one 
of the most productive sugar plantations of the State. 

Prosperous sugar plantations are established at Cachoeira, near the station of Restinga; 
also at Freitas, near Araraquara, and at Pimentel, in the jurisdiction of Jaboticabal, near the 
station of Graminha. The engenho of Pimentel was founded in 1903, and within the first 
year one thousand two hundred tons of sugar cane were treated. The lands are fertile 
and produce excellent sugar and a good quality of aguardente. In Sertaosinho, Jardinopolis, 
Santa Barbara and Villa Americana, sugar plantations are annually producing an increasing 
amount. 

Several important sugar fazendas and mills are owned by the French syndicate already 
referred to. In Villa Raffard, at Capivary, a few miles to the southeast of Piracicaba, one of 
the companies belonging to this 
syndicate owns three fazendas 
and operates a sugar mill with 
a capacity for seven thousand 
tons per month. Neighboring 
fazendas of Itapéva supply 
some of the cane for this fac- 
tory, which has a line of rail- 
way six miles long from the 
Itapéva fazendas to the en- 
genho, and another of about 
equal length to traverse its 
own fields, to collect the cane. 
The same French syndicate is 
represented in a company 
which owns sugar lands and 
mills at Porto Feliz on the Tieté 
River, south of Capivary, as 
well as in another company, 
the proprietors of the engenho 
of Lorena, near the town of 
the same name, within a few 
miles of the border between 
the States of Sdo Paulo and 
Rio, and on the line of the Cen- 
tral railway. From the train an 
excellent view may be had of 
the fazendas of Lorena, which occupy a beautiful site on the margin of the Parahyba 
River at an altitude of one thousand six hundred feet above the sea level, covering 


A MANGO ORCHARD ON THE SCHMIDT FAZENDA AT RIBEIRAO PRETO, 
STATE OF SAO PAULO. 


240 THE NEW BRAZIL 


about five thousand acres of fertile land. The capacity of the engenho is equal to the 
manufacture of forty thousand sacks of sugar each season, which would correspond to 
a production of thirty thousand 
tons of cane, though the har- 
vest so far has not exceeded 
half that amount. 

Throughout the State there 
are twelve central sugar fac- 
tories and large distilleries; two 
hundred sugar mills in connec- 
tion with important fazendas; 
and two thousand small fac- 
tories and distilleries. The 
government, through the pro- 
gressive energy of the Minis- 


GRAPE CULTURE IN THE SCHOOL OF AGRONOMICS, CAMPINAS. ter of Agriculture, Dr. Carlos 
Botelho, keeps minutely in- 
formed regarding the conditions which prevail in agricultural districts; and whenever an 
opportunity occurs to introduce something of benefit to the farmer, it is made the subject of 
especial investigation. Just at present, the new preparation, Molascuit, which is made from 
the husks and molasses of the cane, after extracting the sugar, and which is recommended 
as a food for cattle, is being tested on several fazendas, at the suggestion of the agricultural 
department, pamphlets on the subject having been distributed to all the sugar growers. 

The advantages that Sao Paulo offers for the cultivation of sugar are unsurpassed. First 
of all, the climate is more healthful and invigorating than in other sugar growing regions, such 
as Guiana, with its pestilential 
marshes, Java with its miry 
bogs, and even the banks of the 
lower Mississippi, where malaria 
reigns. Sado Paulo’s sugar lands 
are also free from inundations, 
cyclones, volcanic eruptions, 
and earthquakes, which in some 
countries transform a prosper- 
ous sugar estate into a waste 
place without warning. A soil 
especially suited to the culture RICE GROWING ON A SAO PAULO PLANTATION. 
makes the return for labor satis- 
factory and not too dearly earned; and, finally, the increasing local demand furnishes a home 
market for the product, which offers an excellent opportunity to the enterprising planter. 


AGRICULTURE AND COLONIZATION IN SAO PAULO 241 


Cotton culture, which is now receiving more attention than it has had for many years, 
was at one time in such a flourishing condition, from 1866 to 1876, that not only did the 
product supply the home demand, but from seven million to eight million kilograms were 
exported annually. The decadence of the industry was chiefly owing to the emancipation 
of the slaves, imported labor proving insufficient and unsatisfactory in the cotton field, 
where no workmen have proved so useful as the negroes. At present the production of 
cotton in the State is hardly enough to supply the well-developed weaving industry. 
Within the past eight years, however, a new impetus has been given to cotton culture, 
chiefly through the efforts of the government, and the present annual harvest of the product 
is twelve million kilograms, or nearly double what it was in 1900. 

The centre of cotton production is situated in the Sorocabana district, west of Sdo 
Paulo, though cotton grows with little cultivation in various sections of the State. The 
town of Sorocaba occupies a very advantageous locality on the summit of a hill, from which 
the whole country around for several 
miles is in plain view. A short dis- 
tance from the town the picturesque 
waterfall of the Sorocaba River adds 
attractiveness to a landscape of sin- 
gular beauty. Not only is this city 
the centre of the cotton growing in- 
dustry, and of large factories, such as 
the Sta. Rozalia, and others, but it is 
also noted for its vineyards, for the 
quality and quantity of its cereals, for 
its excellent pasturage, and for the 
valuable iron mines in the vicinity, A WATERFALL NEAR BROTAS, SAO PAULO. 

Where the foundry of Ypanema is 

located. A few leagues distant from Sorocaba lies the town of Itapetininga, also in the 
“cotton belt,’ and like Sorocaba, noted also for its splendid. pasturage, and its mineral 

production, as gold mines exist in this neighborhood. 

Many textiles besides cotton grow in the State. Aramina is cultivated on a large scale, 
and is used in the manufacture of coarse goods for bags, twine, carpeting, etc., for which 
it is better suited than hemp. A new fibre, called Canhamo Brasileiro Perini, is attracting a 
great deal of attention among agriculturists. It was discovered by Dr. V. A. Perini, of 
Campinas, while engaged in botanical work in the northern part of Minas Geraes, where 
he came upon it at an altitude of about three thousand five hundred feet above sea-level. 
According to the best authorities, the plant is unlike any specimen hitherto classified in 
botany. It will undoubtedly furnish a new hemp industry of great importance. 

The culture of tobacco promises to be one of the important sources of revenue of Sao 
Paulo when immigration brings to the State a sufficient number of colonists to develop the 


242 TAEINE VS BRAZIL 


extensive lands which are particularly suitable to the growth of this product. At present 
the most prosperous tobacco plantations are situated in the valley of the Parahyba and 
in the municipalities of Santa 
Branca, Parahybuna, and Sdo 
Luis de Parahytinga. Small 
quantities of tobacco are raised 
in other sections, about fifty 
municipalities counting it as 
one of their products. About 
twelve million kilograms are 
harvested annually, hardly 
enough to supply the market 
of the State. 

The rice fields of Sao Paulo 
are growing in number and 
importance every year, as the 
adaptability of the soil for the development of this industry is being better realized. 
Not only does rice grow in prolific abundance in the southern part of the coast region, 
principally along the course of the Ribeira de Iguape, but it thrives well in the western 
coffee districts, especially those of Jahu, Santa Rita and Pitangueiras. About fifty million 
litres of rice are harvested annually, but this does not represent a tithe of the amount 
which could be produced if colonists were settled in the fertile and untilled valleys of 
the far west, to cultivate this product, for which the soil and climate are so perfectly 
adapted. In consideration of the extraordinary results which have been obtained in 
the United States by the employment of flooding or irrigation as a means of rice 
culture, the government of the State of Sao Paulo has engaged an expert in this method, 
Mr. Welman Bradford, who has been placed in charge of an experimental station situated 
at Pindamonhangaba, in the valley of the Parahyba River. In addition to this station, 
others are being established with a view to giving general demonstration of the best 
methods of rice growing. 

Cereals, such as corn and wheat, are grown all over the State, and the fruits of this 
zone yield an enormous harvest. Pineapple plantations are a familiar sight, and present an 
attractive picture at harvest time, when great fields of the luscious fruit are ready for the 
pickers. The mango trees, wonderful in size and of thick, glossy foliage, bear large quanti- 
ties of this fibrous, yellow fruit. The mango depends greatly for its flavor as well as size 
upon the cultivation it receives; and on some of the fruit farms of western Sado Paulo, as on 
the plantation of Colonel Francisco Schmidt, at Ribeiraéo Preto, especial care is given to this 
fruit, the trees being powdered with insecticide to keep them free from attack. At Villa 
Americana, near Piracicaba, where a colony of North Americans from the southern part of 
the United States is settled, the culture of watermelons is a prosperous industry, the fruit 


POWDERING MANGO TREES WITH INSECTICIDE. 


AGRICULTURE AND COLONIZATION IN SAO PAULO 243 


growing to splendid size, and having a delicious flavor. The silkworm industry thrives in 
the State, but the market is limited. 

Experiments have proved that the soil and climate of Sao Paulo are well suited to grape 
culture and to the production of a superior quality of wine. For about twenty years, 
efforts have been made to secure satisfactory results in viticulture, and very gratifying 
success has been achieved in this enterprise by Dr. Nicolau Vergueiro of Sorocaba, who 
makes excellent wine from the American grapes “Black July” and “Norton Virginia,” as 
well as by Dr. Luiz Pereira Barretto, who has produced a vine especially adapted to the 
climatic conditions of the State, resisting all the vine diseases. 

The production of chocolate, which should be one of the most prosperous industries of 
the State is beginning to gain ground, as well as the culture of the manigoba rubber tree, 
which grows rapidly and produces a good latex in the humid soil of the Iguape valley. 

The general activity, hopefulness, expansion, and the disposition toward improvement, 
which mark the Sao Paulo agriculturist of to-day are to be traced directly to the constant 
and unremitting purpose of the government, as interpreted by the department of agriculture, 
which by all possible efforts seeks to stimulate the desire for better agricultural conditions, 
oreater development, and more satisfactory results for capital and labor invested. Especially 
has the present Secretary of Agriculture, Dr. Carlos Botelho, worked with zeal and efficiency 
to reorganize the agricultural system of the State and to establish it on a foundation of 
modern enterprise and endeavor. In every branch of his department, which supervises 


CUTTING SUGAR CANE, SAO PAULO. 


not only all matters relating to agriculture but also the commerce, railways and public 
works of the State, Dr. Botelho has accomplished important improvements, introducing 


244 THE NEW BRAZIL 


measures for the benefit of the State, and with equal solicitude for all its inhabitants, 
whether they be of native or foreign birth. It is the high and noble aim of the government 


WATERMELONS READY FOR SHIPMENT AT THE AMERICAN VILLAGE, SAO PAULO. 


to make the State of Sdo Paulo a happy home for its people in everything which that 
beautiful expression implies, a home of peace and plenty for all who place themselves 
under its protection. 

Of the great work which Dr. Carlos Botelho has done and is doing, the complete 
results can only be appreciated in the course of time. But the influence of his progressive 
spirit is seen every day. With the determination to bring about desirable improvements, 
he has secured a reduction of the railway tariff on sugar cane destined to the sugar indus- 
tries, on cotton, and on agricultural machines and implements; he has inaugurated agricul- 
tural fairs to encourage competition; he has increased the distribution of seeds and plants, 
and has scattered broadcast among the farmers books and pamphlets of agricultural 
propaganda; he has prepared, for the first time in the history of the State, complete agricul- 
tural and zoétechnic statistics; he has organized, with the pecuniary aid of the State, a stud 
farm for the importation and breeding of pedigree animals; and through his initiative a 
scientific commission was recently sent to explore the unknown regions of the western 
part of the State, the result of whose efforts is the final erasure from the map of the vast 
“unexplored territory;” no land of the State remains any longer in that category. 

The question of agricultural training has received Dr. Botelho’s especial attention, and 
under his supervision the existing agricultural schools have been reorganized and new ones 


AGRICULTURE AND COLONIZATION IN SAO PAULO 245 


established. If he had accomplished no other work, this alone should suffice to make his 
administration memorable, of such great importance is it to the State’s industrial welfare. 

The Agricultural College, called 
the Escola Agricola Practica “Luiz de 
Queiroz,” and the “Fazenda Modelo” 
or Model Farm of the State of Sdo 
Paulo, were organized by Dr. Tibiriga, 
when Secretary of Agriculture, for the 
purpose of giving to the farming com- 
munity both theoretical and practical 
instruction in agriculture. They are 
situated at Piracicaba, at the head of 
navigation on the Piracicaba_ River, 
about one hundred and fifty miles 
northwest of the city of Sado Paulo. 
The college is the largest and best 


: . 3 5 : es GLIMPSE OF A SAO PAULO FOREST, SHOWING TREES 
equipped institution of its kind in ENTWINED. WITH LIANAS: 


South America, and furnishes a com- 
plete course in the agricultural sciences, while the students receive instruction in farm 
practice on the large and well tilled fazenda connected with it. The college already 


has an average attendance of one hundred 
students; and the staff consists of nine professors 
and instructors. Located in a commodious and 
spacious building on the outskirts of the city, 
the college is an edifice of recent construction, 
equipped, at considerable cost, with all the re- 
quirements of a modern agricultural institution, 
and surrounded by a large and beautiful park, 
with orchards and kitchen garden in the rear. 
The main college building measures three hun- 
dred and fifty feet by one hundred and twenty, 
and is two stories in height. The ceilings are 
lofty and the rooms admirably lighted and 
ventilated. 

The Fazenda Modelo covers an area of 
eight hundred acres, of which about two hun- 
dred acres are in cultivation, the remainder being 
in permanent pasture and second growth timber. 
The principal crops are corn, rice, beans, sugar cane, and cotton, and splendid yields are 
harvested. A small plantation of ten thousand coffee trees has been planted on newly 


OFFICE OF COLONIZATION, SAO PAULO. 


246 LOEB SNES EB RAZIL 


cleared ground. Among other field crops that are grown on quite an extensive scale are: 
mandioca, or cassava, Irish and sweet potatoes, arrowroot, oats, Canada field peas, sorghum, 
alfalfa, broom-corn, and peanuts. About fifty men are employed on the fazenda, as it is 
the desire to get much of the land into cultivation at once and to avoid the growth of 
shrubs and bushes, which spring up rapidly if the soil remains untilled. The Fazenda 
Modelo is equipped with modern farm implements, the demand for which is constantly 
becoming more general among Sado Paulo farmers. A large number of plot experiments are 
being carried on to test the value of new plant introductions, improved cultural methods, 
and the use of special fertilizers in the production of certain crops. In the truck garden all 
the common vegetables are grown, except the tomato, which is attacked by something like 
the wilt disease, now causing so much damage to the plant in some parts of North America. 
This does not apply to the small yellow and red plum tomatoes, which grow wild and are 
exempt from attack, a fact suggesting the possibilities of science to produce a new and 
resistant variety. In the dry winter season the hardy vegetables, such as cabbage, cauli- 
flower, onions, beets, carrots, and garden peas grow in abundance, and the fazenda is 
demonstrating the value of irrigation during the dry season to produce green vegetables 
the year round. Tropical and sub-tropical fruits, such as oranges, lemons, mangoes, 
mamo6es (tree melons), and pineapples are either planted in permanent orchards of the 
fazenda or are waiting their turn in the nursery rows. A vineyard of five hundred vines is 
bearing a fine quality of grapes, and efforts are being made to grow the apples, pears, 
peaches, and cherries of colder climates. Strawberries yield well, and are in season about 
three months. 

Most of the live stock of the Fazenda Modelo is of native origin, and is being improved 
by the importation of pure bred stock from Europe, the government of the State giving 
particular attention to the development of the best possible breeds of horses, cattle and 
Sheep, which are desirable to stock its immense pasture lands, eventually to enter into 
competition in the best markets of the world. At present, the live stock of the Fazenda 
averages about seventy-five head, some of them imported and unacclimated animals, the 
healthfulness of the country for their breeding being shown by the fact that during the 
past two years only one has died. The Fazenda has ample tool houses, corn-cribs, and com- 
plete milling machinery, such as cotton-gin, etc. The Fazenda Modelo, which is annexed 
to the Escola Agricola, is under the direction of Mr. J. William Hart, an experienced agricul- 
turist from the United States, through whose courtesy much valuable information was 
obtained for the purposes of this chapter. 

Both the Escola Agricola and the Fazenda Modelo are liberally supported by the State 
government, the grant for the year 1907 being equivalent to twenty-five thousand dollars 
gold to each institution for running expenses. This is in addition to the large sums which 
are being spent in building and furnishing, and in acquisitions that are paid for out of other 
government funds. The purpose of the college, as explained in the government decree 
for its reorganization, which was issued February 18, 1905, is to spread among the youth 


AGRICULTURE AND COLONIZATION IN SAO PAULO 247 


of the farming communities scientific ideas and practical knowledge regarding agricultural in- 
dustries. The general curriculum of the college is divided into four courses: the elementary, 
which prepares pupils for ordinary farm work; the intermediate, which gives the instruction 


HOTEL FOR IMMIGRANTS, SAO PAULO. 


necessary for farm managers; the superior course, for administrators of estates, industrial 
agents, professors of agriculture, etc.; and the course of recapitulation, after which the pupil 
is graduated with an understanding of the whole realm of agriculture, as an industry, an 
art and a science. The applicant for admission to the elementary course must be at least 
sixteen years of age, must know how to read, write and calculate, and must pay a matricu- 
lation tax of fifty milreis. For the higher courses additional educational requirements are 
imposed. Among the important features of this institution are the excursions made by the 
pupils in company with the teachers, during the vacation, to various agricultural establish- 
ments, factories, engenhos, etc., in order to study their methods and to profit by the 
suggestions made for greater improvement. Last year, classes visited the Piracicaba 
sugar mills and the immense coffee fazendas of Ribeirao Preto. 

In addition to the agricultural college, the government has also established, as agricul- 
tural schools for apprentices, the Aprendizado Agricola “Dr. Bernardino de Campos,” in 


248 THE@NEV) BRAZIL 


Iguape, and the Aprendizado Agricola “Jodo Tibiriga” in Sado Sebastido, in the coast district. 
At Cubatado, the Horto Agrario Tropical, a tropical garden, has been established, in which 
agricultural education relating exclusively to the tropical zone of the coast region is 
taught. Here the culture of cacao, for the manufacture of chocolate, is receiving espe- 
cial attention. The Instituto Agronomico of Campinas renders invaluable service to the 
State by the experiments made in all branches of agriculture; in its laboratories are studied 
all the various evils which attack the plantations, such as insects, etc., with a view to 
their eradication; and the perfection of agriculture in all its branches is made a constant 
object. The Institute occupies an ideal situation, and presents the attractive aspect of a 
model farm. Believing firmly in the advantages of State fairs as a means of encour- 
aging the farmer, Dr. Botelho has devoted considerable attention to these exhibitions, 
and live stock shows have been held at Campinas, Pindamonhangaba, Sao Carlos do 
Pinhal, Itapetininga, and Batataes; a cotton exhibition recently opened at Campinas was 


A CHEERFUL GROUP OF IMMIGRANTS, SAO PAULO. 


a great success; anda central zootechnic exhibition, held at the Mooga, in the State capital, 
attracted many visitors. 

While every effort which progressive energy and enterprise can accomplish is being put 
forth to improve the agricultural conditions of Sado Paulo by instruction and encouragement, 


AGRICULTURE AND COLONIZATION IN SAO PAULO 249 


the question of increasing the population by immigration is receiving the attention its 
importance demands. Lands have been set apart for the colonists who are constantly 
arriving, and who will add to the development and prosperity of the State by helping to 
cultivate those products which are the richest 
sources of revenue in the more settled parts 
of the State, as well as to open up new 
regions in the remote interior. During the 
first six months of Dr. Carlos Botelho’s 
administration as Secretary of Agriculture, 
seven thousand immigrants were given 
homes in the most healthful zone of the 
State and provided with the means to earn 
a livelihood. Since then, about fifty thou- 
sand immigrants have arrived. A feature 
of the immigration which is producing good 
results is the government’s arrangement A COLONIST’S HOUSE, STATE OF SAO PAULO. 
by which colonists living in Sao Paulo 
can bring out their relatives free of cost, thus insuring a desirable class of colonists. 

In order to be prepared for the accommodation of large numbers of immigrants the 
government has founded the agricultural centres of “Nova Odessa” and “Jorge Tibiricga,” 
both of which are situated on the line of, the Paulista railway, and offer favorable opportuni- 
ties to colonists, not only by their locality and the excellent quality of the land, but by the 
liberal arrangements provided. Another agricultural centre, the “Campos-Salles,” has been 
enlarged and the railway extended to reach it. In Nova Odessa, one hundred and twenty- 
five acres of the land are reserved for a demonstration field to be maintained by the 
government; one hundred and twenty-five acres more are reserved for the municipal offices 
and schools; and the remainder is divided into lots of sixty-five acres, maximum, at prices 
varying from sixteen to twenty-four milreis ($5.50 to $8.00) per acre, according to area, 
situation and quality of lands. One-fifth of the price is payable when the colonist receives 
the provisional title, the second payment is made the second year, and a payment follows 
annually until the final settlement, in the fifth payment, after which the colonist receives 
the deed of full possession. The government provides lodging gratis, until the colonist 
can construct a dwelling, (the time not to exceed one year), and facilitates the building of 
his house, as well as the securing of machinery, horses and all necessaries. 

Colonies similar to that of Nova Odessa have been founded at Piaguhy, Sabatna, 
Sao Bernardo, and other places. More than two thousand two hundred acres of State 
land have been marked out for colonization in the coast district, northeast of Santos, and 
work has been begun on a colonist centre to be established near Sado Sebastido. More 
than fifteen thousand acres in the central part of the State have been obtained by purchase 
and gift from Counsellor Gaviéo Peixoto, on which three new colonist settlements have 


250 THE NEW BRAZIL 


been founded, Nova Europa, Nova Paulicéa, and Gaviado Peixoto, all of which will be 
traversed by the extension of the Dourado railway from Boa Esperanga, beyond Sao Carlos. 
Near Ubatuba, north of Sao Sebastiao, on the coast, a colony is to be established on a site 
recently ceded to the government, called Conde do Pinhal. 

An official agency of Colonization and Labor has been established by the government 
to facilitate the locating of immigrants and to look after their interests in their newly adopted 
land. Through its efforts four thousand families have been introduced, and two hundred 
Settled in colonies, in addition to about one hundred single men. During the harvest one 
thousand were drafted onto plantations. Besides this agency the government maintains 
an Inspecting Board at the port of Santos and a Board of Lands, Colonization and Immi- 
gration, whose duty it is to attend to all the special details of this service. 

The Hospedaria de Immigrantes, or Immigrants Hotel, is also maintained by the gov- 
ernment. An agent of the Inspector of Lands and Colonization, who speaks the language 
of the immigrants, receives them as they land, extending, in the name of the government, 
the hospitality of the State, while another official directs them to their temporary lodgings 
and explains the rules of the establishment. 

The history of immigration in S4o Paulo began during the time of the Empire, when 
Count de Parnahyba was president of the province. He was a statesman of great ability 
and recognized the importance of bringing in foreign colonists to help to develop the vast 
resources of this rich territory. The Hospedaria de Immigrantes was built during his 
administration, and many colonies were established which are to-day among the most 
flourishing communities of the State. Whatever tends to invite capital and labor and thus 
to increase the means of developing any territory of Brazil is to be regarded with favor; 
for growth and prosperity can come only through the energetic work of many hands, united 
in ambitious and hopeful endeavor. 


FIRST GLIMPSE OF THEIR ADOPTED LAND. 


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‘O1NVd OYS ‘VUVNOVAVAV LV dOYND AdsSdOO SHL ONILSAAYUVH 


CHAPTER XIV 


GOELEE 


Fegan than mines of gold and silver are the 

dark red stretches of the ferra roxa of Brazil, 
which occur at intervals throughout the country 
from Ceara southward to Santa Catharina, and 
mark the locality of the most valuable coffee fields 
in the world. Of the entire harvest of coffee for 
1906, amounting to sixteen million one hundred 
and twenty-five thousand bags, Brazil produced 
thirteen million one hundred and twenty-five thou- 
sand bags, or more than three-fourths of the 
total. The centre of this vast coffee growing re- 
gion lies in the State of Sao Paulo, which is richer 
in coffee lands than all other countries put together, 
yielding annually ten million bags, from plantations 
which represent less than half of the actual area 
under cultivation. in the State for the production 
of coffee. Nearly seven hundred million coffee 
trees of all ages adorn the sunny hillsides of central 
Sao Paulo, extending from the Parahyba valley in 
the southeast to the border of the State of Minas in the north; and the plantations are 
reaching farther and farther westward as the railroads push their lines to the remote limits. 

Imagination can picture no more beautiful sight than that which is presented by a vast 
plantation of coffee trees, seen from an eminence on the approach to one of the great 
fazendas. Like a sea of green, the surface rippling in the breeze, each wave defined by the 
regular spacing of the trees, the great panorama spreads out on all sides, till it seems to touch 
the blue sky at the horizon, or, nearer, to bathe in its verdure the base of distant mountains. 


A visit to the immense fazendas of Monte Alegre, at Ribeirdo Preto, which are owned by 
253 


A COFFEE TREE AT HARVEST TIME. 


254 THEGNEW BRAZIL 


the “coffee king” of Sao Paulo, Colonel Francisco Schmidt, not only impresses one by the 
picturesque charm of a sight that is unique in landscapes, but gives an idea of the vast 
importance of so great an enterprise. Francisco Schmidt came to Sao Paulo as a colonist, 
and is very proud of the success which he has achieved in his adopted land, as the architect 
of his own fortunes. Mr. Schmidt has seven million five hundred and twenty-eight thou- 
sand coffee trees on his fazendas, which extend over twelve thousand alquieres of land; 
large paved terraces, covering thousands of square feet, are equipped with modern arrange- 
ments for drying and shipping the coffee, sixteen machines being in use for the various 
processes. Nearly a thousand horses and mules are employed in working the plantations, 
and about two thousand head of cattle belong to the estate. The colonists who cultivate the 
fazendas are provided with houses, and appear to be well contented and prosperous. They 
number eight thousand or more, and constitute quite an important community. On each 
plantation a free school is kept open during the summer, and the children of the colonists 
are obliged to attend; during harvest time, which is in winter, the school is closed. There 
are other schools open all the year round for children who are not employed. This 
enormous property is not devoted to coffee culture only, but is divided into plantations 
for various agricultural products. As elsewhere stated, one of the most important sugar 
factories of the State is located here. 

Another large coffee estate at Ribeirdo Preto belongs to the heirs of the Count de 
Pinhal, one of the noted men of Sao Paulo, who did much during a long and useful life to 
promote the industrial interests of his native State. On the fazendas of this estate about two 
million coffee trees are under cultivation, the annual production amounting to about sixty 
thousand bags, each bag weighing sixty kilograms. The area planted in trees is ten thou- 
sand acres; the whole property is traversed by a railway, and the various establishments 
are lighted with electricity. Four thousand colonists work on the fazendas of the company, 
the annual expenses of which amount to about a quarter of a million dollars gold. The 
great “Dumont” fazenda, which belongs to a wealthy English syndicate, contains more than 
a hundred thousand acres of the best lands in the State of Sao Paulo, and has six million 
coffee trees under cultivation. The profits of this enormous enterprise exceed the sum of 
seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars in gold annually. The plantation has its own 
private railway connecting with the main line sixteen miles away. It gives support to more 
than a thousand families. The Palmeiras fazenda contains more than three hundred thou- 
sand acres, comprising a territory forty miles long by thirty miles wide. The vast planta- 
tions at Araraquara are among the richest in Sao Paulo, the northern central region of the 
State vying with the older coffee districts near the capital in the abundance and quality of 
their harvests. 

No other country shows such vast areas planted in coffee as does Sado Paulo, and in 
no other country is the production of coffee per acre equal to that yielded by the wonderful 
farms of this State. Even those plantations which do not cover an enormous extent, are 
important because of the prolific abundance of their harvests. The beautiful fazenda of 


COFFEE 255 


= 


Santa Cruz, which is situated in the municipality of Araras, about six hours’ journey by 
railway from the capital of the State, comprises two thousand acres of rich land, planted in 


FOREIGN VISITORS ENJOYING THE NOVELTY OF PICKING COFFEE. 


a half a million coffee trees, the last harvest of which yielded twenty thousand bags. 
Secretary Elihu Root visited this fazenda, in company with Dr. Antonio Prado, Dr. Carlos 
Botelho and others, during his stay in Sdo Paulo in 1906 and had the pleasure of seeing a 
modern fazenda in harvest time and of “picking coffee.” The estate is one of the most 
prosperous in the State. In the midst of a tropical park stands a typical Brazilian country 
house of modern style, from the verandahs of which may be seen a picturesque lake, partly 
encircled by a plantation of gigantic bamboos. Not far away extends a forest of almost 
impenetrable depth, in which Brazilian vegetation runs riot in all its luxuriance, from the 
minute palms to the gigantic Jequitiba. This estate is the property of Senhora Donna Anesia 
da Silva Prado e Chaves. 

Many of the coffee estates present attractive features aside from their commercial 
importance, and most of them have associations that lend the charm of sentiment to their 
surroundings and history. Near the town of Campinas the fazenda of Baron Geraldo de 
Rezende, with half a million coffee trees adorning its fertile hillsides, presents an aesthetic 
aspect in its magnificent “casa” and gardens, inviting envy by the wonderful collection of 
rare orchids and the eight hundred different varieties of roses that bloom in its flower beds. 


256 THE GNEVCeBRAZIE 


Campinas is one of the oldest and most prosperous cities of the State, and has a population 
of forty-five thousand. It is beautifully situated on the Paulista railway, about eighty 
miles from the capital. Its schools are among the best in the State and it has a large and 
beautiful cathedral and many churches, as well as hospitals and other charitable institutions. 
It is lighted with electricity, is well paved and has a good sanitarium, and is noted as the 
birthplace of the composer Carlos Gomes, and of ex-president Campos-Salles. The broad 
acres of the Prado estate as well as other plantations possess an especial interest through 
their intimate relation to the dramatic scenes of abolition days; for when the famous decree 
of emancipation was put into effect, in 1888, there were whole sections where planters were 
already paying wages for the labor on their farms. 

Since the emancipation of the slaves, Italian laborers have been employed in large num- 
bers on the coffee fazendas, and, as a rule, they give perfect satisfaction, readily acquiring the 
language and finding the climate altogether agreeable. The demand for labor is always 
greater than the supply, but the constant efforts which are made to increase immigration 
and to colonize the coffee and other agricultural districts of the States are rapidly bearing 
fruit, and increasing numbers of foreign laborers find their way to the fazendas every year. 

Next to Ribeirao Preto and Campinas, which produce more coffee than any other 
municipalities of the State, Sao Carlos and Amparo rank as the richest coffee growing 


A TYPICAL COFFEE FAZENDA, SHOWING MILLIONS OF TREES. 


centres. Sao Carlos do Pinhal, as it is called, is situated on the Rio Claro section of the 
Paulista railway in the northern central district. It has been a municipality since 1865, 
and now has a population of fifteen thousand within the city limits, and of sixty thousand in 


CORTE 257 


the municipality. Amparo is a progressive city of twenty thousand inhabitants, situated 
one hundred miles north of the city of Sao Paulo, on the Mogyana railway, and in the 
midst of very picturesque scenery. The municipality is rich and prosperous, more than 
three hundred and fifty 
thousand sacks of coffee 
being annually harvested 
on its fazendas. 

Among the impor- 
tant northern fazendas is 
that of Sao Martinho, a 
few leagues south of 
Ribeirdo Preto, and on 
the line of the Paulista 
railway. About fourteen 
thousand alquieres be- 
long to the proprietors, 
Senhora Donna Veridi- 
anow.brado, and “sons, 
and of this, one thousand A FAMILIAR SCENE ON A COFFEE PLANTATION. 
three hundred alquieres ; 
are planted in coffee trees, of which there are two million three hundred thousand in culti- 
vation, producing an average of fifty-eight thousand sacks of coffee, at a cost of three 
dollars, gold, each sack. During harvest about two thousand employees are engaged in the 
work of the fazenda, the proprietors providing four hundred houses for the colonists, who 
are also given the advantage of schools and churches, and of free medical attendance and 
drugs. The machinery for the drying and hulling of the coffee is modern and complete, 
and is capable of preparing five hundred sacks in twelve hours. In addition to coffee 
culture, cattle raising is an important industry of the fazenda. Batataes, Descalvado, 
Sertaosinho, Jahu, Santa Rita, So Simao, Cravinhos, Jaboticabal, all situated in the northern 
half of the State, are among the richest coffee producing centres of the country. They are 
all thriving towns, having good schools, churches, hospitals and other public buildings, and 
well constructed dwellings. The municipality of Sd4o Manoel, which, with the neighboring 
town of Botucatu, represents a large and enormously valuable coffee producing territory, 
founded within the past twenty-five years, has made remarkable progress, and is to-day 
one of the most advanced of the far western towns. Its schools and churches are commo- 
dious buildings, the streets are paved, and with the new railway line of the Sorocabana 
passing through the town, easy communication is assured with the capital. 

Although the coffee district of the Parahyba River does not represent such abundant 
wealth as that of the more recently developed plantations of the northern part of the State, 
yet rich harvests are gathered on the fazendas of Taubaté, Pindamonhangaba, Guaratingueta, 


258 THE NEW BRAZIL 


and other places in this vicinity. The historic old city of Taubaté,—which has recently come 
into renown in consequence of the convention held there to arrange the project for the 
valorization of coffee,—has been exporting this product for more than half a century, having 
been one of the first towns of the State to promote its culture. During colonial days Taubaté 
was a very important settlement and its people played a prominent part in the history of 
early Paulista explorations and conquests. To-day it is a city of thirty thousand inhabitants, 
with broad streets, well paved, with handsome public buildings, a splendid system of 
waterworks, street cars, gasworks for the city lighting, etc. 

From beginnings so small as to seem utterly insignificant, the coffee culture of Brazil, 
and especially of Sdo Paulo, has grown to eclipse all competition, being sufficient now to meet 
the demand of the whole world, which, within less than two centuries, has increased from 
a single wagon load to about forty thousand car loads. Although of comparatively recent 
fame, the history of this now universal beverage is very ancient, Abyssinia and Ethiopia 


DRYING COFFEE. 


having used it as a medicine apparently from time immemorial, introducing it into Persia 
during the ninth century and into Arabia about the beginning of the fifteenth century. The 
Arabians seem to have been the first to drink coffee as a beverage, their writers of the end 
of the fifteenth century referring to it as a popular refreshment among the brain-workers in 


COPEEE 259 


the city of Aden. From the Orient it gradually became known elsewhere, being offered 
for sale in Constantinople in 1554, and in Germany in 1582. About the middle of the 
seventeenth century the first coffee house was opened in England, and by the middle of 
the eighteenth century the culture of coffee was making good progress in America, having 
been begun first at Martinique, 
in the West Indies; a few years 
later at Para, Brazil; and after- 
ward in Rio, Sao Paulo, and 
other southern States of this 
country. 

The history of coffee ex- 
port from Brazil begins in 1817 
with the shipment of about 
sixty thousand bags, though 
two bags are said to have been 
sent to a foreign market as early 
as the first year of the nine- 
teenth century. The rapid de- 
cline of coffee planting in the 
West Indies and its failure in 
Ceylon and other parts of the 
East leave Brazil with few 
strong competitors, and open up 
possibilities there for the for- 
elgn investor which can hardly 
be offered elsewhere. To the 
ambitious farmer the opportu- 
nity is worth consideration. It 
is Said that a small coffee or- A STREET IN CAMPINAS, THE CENTRE OF A RICH COFFEE 
chard of from five thousand to eR ee ee 
ten thousand trees may be made to yield a splendid income by the cultivation of other crops 
at the same time, not interfering with the success of the principal product. Under proper 
management coffee can be produced, as has been proved by some of the large companies 
that have investments in Brazil, at a greater profit than the western American farmer realizes 
on his corn at thirty cents, or his wheat at eighty cents a bushel. It is a singular fact that, 
while North American capital has been looking up the coffee in the Far East, Englishmen 
and Germans have invested in Brazil with eminently satisfactory results. 

The epicure who sips his café noir with critical fastidiousness can hardly imagine or 
appreciate the care and delicacy of treatment which are necessary to bring about perfect 
results, from the time the little seed is planted in the red soil of sunny southern hillsides to 


260 DHEGNEIV DRA LIES, 


the important moment when the delicious beverage is served up to his cultivated palate in 
a style according to the highest traditions of the caterer’s art. Perhaps it would give zest to 
enjoyment if he could call up in imagination the graceful little green coffee trees nodding 
to the sway of soft breezes under the sapphire skies of their native land; the picture of 
peasant groups, with their “homely joys and destiny obscure”; the luxury and extravagance 
of the rich homes where fazendeiros live like princes; the whir and din of the factory which 
converts the red berries into the coffee of commerce; the eager mart of traders and shippers, 
and the busy wharves where great ships wait to carry a precious burden across the seas. 
Every detail of the evolution of this delicious beverage possesses a distinctive charm. The 
nature and development of coffee affords material for description worthy of the most gifted 
pen. First, from the seed-beds where only the choicest beans are planted, the little shoot 
springs up, rapidly clothing itself with the richest verdure; every month it grows and 


WEIGHING COFFEE FOR SHIPMENT, IN THE WAREHOUSE AT SANTOS. 


spreads a little, until it has reached a couple of feet in height, when it is ready to be 
transplanted and to begin its career as a full-fledged tree. 

The coffee tree is an evergreen, growing to a height of from five to twenty feet, accord- 
ing to variety, usually having a single trunk, though in Brazil it is often found growing from 
Six or seven stalks. The leaves are long, smooth, and dark green in color, the blossoms 


COFFEE 261 


growing in fragrant white bunches in the axils of the branches. The fruit grows in clusters 
varying from half a dozen to a dozen, and having very short stems or none at all. When 
ripe, it resembles a medium-sized cranberry. The coffee bean of commerce is the seed of 
this fruit, every berry having two seeds or beans, shaped like irregular half-spheres, lying 
imbedded in its yellow, sweetish pulp, with their flat surfaces together so as to form almost 


LOADING COFFEE AT SANTOS. 


a perfect sphere, separated only by a thin “parchment skin.” . When the berry is dried, the 
pulp hardens into a shell or pod. There is seldom a time of the year when blossoms are 
entirely absent, and sometimes the fruit in all its stages, from the blossom to maturity, is 
found on the same tree. Coffee may be grown in climates free from frost, where the 
soil is neither too dry nor too moist, these extremes being fatal to its culture. It is 
usually planted on the mountain slopes, a thousand feet or more above sea level, but it 
has been successfully grown also on fertile, flat lands properly drained. The trees begin 
to bear when from three to five years old. The “Bourbon” variety will produce a good 
crop the third year, and the “Java,” planted on the same land, will yield a satisfactory crop 
the fourth year. From the sixth year abundant harvests may be gathered up to the 
twentieth, after which the yield is less, until the fortieth, or, in some instances, the fiftieth 
year, when production ceases altogether. The average crop of a healthy tree from five 


262 THE NEW BRAZIL 


to fifteen years old is about four pounds to a tree, though some plantations in favorable 
years have grown six and even ten pounds to a tree. An idea of the natural advantages 
which Brazil possesses as a coffee growing country may be gained by comparing these 
averages with the records of some other coffee countries where the yield is little more than 
a pound per tree. 

During the harvest, a coffee plantation is the scene of constant activity. The trees 
begin to blossom in September, and by April or May the fruit is ripe and ready for the 
pickers, who present a business-like appearance with their great baskets strapped on their 
shoulders, apparently eager to enter the arena of competition, where, like “pickers” the 
world over, they work for reputation, as well as money, the fame of being “the fastest 
picker in the State” having a charm no less potent to their limited ambition than are the 
superlatives that attract their fellowmen in higher fields of human endeavor. An honest 
incentive that lightens labor and offers a happy goal to human effort gives dignity to any 
toiler, however humble his position. In large plantations, the space necessary for the 
various processes of treating the coffee from the time itis gathered and taken to the 
lerreiro until ready for market embraces a surface of several acres, with mills, warehouses, 
Stables, and machine shops. The employees of the farm and factory include hundreds of 
families. The larger cafezales have a complete outfit for drying, shelling, and sacking 
the coffee. Nearly all the processes of preparation seek first the removal of the outer 
pulp by maceration in water, then the drying of the seeds, and finally the removal of 
the thin parchment-like skin that still envelops them after the outer pulp has been taken 
off. By an additional process, the coffee is divided into classes according to form and size, 
as ‘‘Mocha,” “Martinique,” and other “sorts.” The cafezale of a large fazenda is one of the 
most interesting establishments imaginable when converted into a hive of industry by the 
arrival of a harvest of the precious fruit. The first operation to which the berries are sub- 
mitted is known as pulping, which is done by a machine that consists of a revolving iron 
cylinder set with teeth and covered on one side by a curved sheet of metal against which it 
impinges as it turns, the bottom of the cylinder being perforated so that the beans fall through, 
when free from the pulp, into a canal of flowing water that carries them into the fermenting 
tanks for the removal of the saccharine matter that must be washed off before they can be 
dried. There are usually three of these tanks, of which two are receiving cisterns, each large 
enough to accommodate the greatest possible daily gathering, and the third a cleansing tank, 
nearly as large as the other two combined; a good sized outlet is provided with a sieve fine 
enough to retain the beans when the water is drawn off, without becoming clogged with 
the saccharine scum. After fermentation, the coffee passes into the cleansing tank, where 
the last trace of the saccharine matter is removed, and the beans are prepared for the drying 
process. All Brazilian fazendas have drying terraces made of cement, where the coffee is 
spread out in thin layers so as to have the full benefit of the sun’s heat. Men with rakes 
are kept constantly busy turning the beans, to hasten the drying, which sometimes requires 
several weeks. An artificial method is occasionally employed by means of steam heat, but 


COarEEE 263 


it is said that no other process is so satisfactory as the sun’s rays. When the beans are dry 
the parchment skin is removed by passing them between heavy rollers arranged for the 
purpose, the chaff being cleared away by a winnowing process. The coffee is afterward 
separated into different grades, this operation being performed by women and girls, who 
work at a long table arranged for the pur- 
pose. Then the coffee is put up in coarse 
sacks, and sent to the nearest station for 
shipment to the seaport. Rio de Janeiro 
and Santos are the principal shipping ports 
for Brazilian coffee, from which they receive 
the names “Rio” and “Santos” coffees. 

In the busy season the warehouses have 
amively sappeaiaice | dies StrectS7 00 tlie 
shipping quarter of the seaport are blockaded 
with wagons loaded with coffee; scores of 
broad-shouldered carriers hurry back and 
forth, carrying the sacks on their heads from 
the wagons to the warehouse, while darting 
in and out among the wagons are women 
who scoop up with sieves the beans spilled 
on the ground in unloading, their little hoard 
in many cases realizing quite a considerable 
sum. In the warehouses the coffee is emptied 
out in great piles, and repacked in bags of 


: : : : SENHOR DOM FRANCISCO SCHMIDT, THE COFFEE 
uniform weight, sometimes by machinery, ae cornet nit a 


though generally by hand, the men employed 

in this work attaining great dexterity. At the wharves, carriers are busy unloading from the 
cars to the ships, while policemen patrol the landing to guard against any infringement of 
the law. Fighting is of rare occurrence, the disposition of the Brazilians, even among the 
lowest classes, being peaceable and good-natured. 

The best coffees known to commerce are “Mocha” and “Java,” specified as “mild” 
coffees. The beans of the Arabian Mocha are small and of a dark yellow color, while those 
of Java are larger and pale yellow, or brown, the brown Java beans being older and more 
valuable. Brazilian coffee is divided, commercially, into many grades, the fine grade con- 
sisting of regular-sized beans, free from hulls or extraneous matters, while the lowest grade 
is not carefully assorted and may contain broken and defective beans as well as hulls, 
sticks, and other rubbish, which give it a cheap value in the market. In view of the con- 
stant effort of the government of Brazil to maintain a high standard of excellence in the 
culture of coffee, it is discouraging to know that while the true origin of inferior grades is 
recognized abroad, the best qualities of the Brazilian product are frequently sold as Arabian 


264 THES NEVASBRAZIE 


Mocha, Java, or other Oriental coffees, sometimes even being shipped from Europe to 
Egypt, and thence to Arabia, for repacking in Mocha fashion, with the result that good 
Santos coffee, first sold in Brazil at five cents per pound, brings a retail price of forty-five 
cents a pound in foreign markets, after its transformation into “real Arabian Mocha.” 

In the raw state in which it is shipped the coffee has little flavor, the caffeine, a peculiar 
brown oil which gives coffee its characteristic aroma, being developed by the process of 
roasting. The Brazilians, who understand perfectly the nature of coffee, say that its 
quality, its flavor and aroma, cannot be enjoyed to the full measure of its possibilities unless 
it is kept several years before using, always in a perfectly dry atmosphere. Some connois- 
Seurs maintain that coffee is at its best after being kept eight years in this way. To 
make a good cup of coffee, the bean should be roasted and ground afresh each time, and 
never boiled, but reduced to fine powder and compressed in a woollen bag through which 
hot water is poured, so that a percolation rather than a decoction is the result. Coffee that 
has been gathered at least two years is used in preference to new coffee. The varied 
operations through which the coffee passes before it can be said to have “arrived” are 
altogether in keeping with the character of its destiny,—the important rdle it plays in the 
progress of human affairs. “Coffee and pistols” has passed into a proverb significant of 
the close association of this beverage with the supreme moments of life; the “coffee- 
house” and the “café” have always been famous as the rendezvous of great men and the 
favorite resort of cabals; the dainty little coffee service in every home is intimately related 
to the sweetest and bitterest memories of life, and hearts have throbbed with courage or 
broken in despair under whispered words punctuating the pauses between sips of the 
divine nectar. 

In the homes of Brazil, where hospitality finds its sweetest expression, every guest is 
invited to enjoy a cup of coffee so perfectly prepared as to realize the famous formula of 
the immortal Talleyrand: “Noir comme le diable, chaud comme l’enfer, pur comme un ange, 
doux comme l'amour.” 


AN AVENUE OF COFFEE TREES ON SAO MARTINHO FAZENDA. 


a 
2 


Sw 
us 
2 


THE SAO PAULO RAILWAY STATION “LUZ,” CITY OF SAO PAULO. 


CHAPTER XV 
RAILWAY TRAVEL IN SAO PAULO 


OT only does Sao Paulo occupy a leading 
place among the Brazilian States in edu- 
cation and industrial advancement, but it is also 
first in railway enterprise, having three thou- 
sand five hundred miles of railways already 
built, and two thousand miles of extensions 
now under construction. From Rio de Janeiro 
to the city of Sao Paulo the journey by railway 
is made in ten hours over a branch of the Cen- 
tral system, which is owned by the Federal 
government, and is one of the most important 
lines in the republic. Most travellers who go 
to Rio, make a trip to Sao Paulo, as it offers not 
only the enjoyment of magnificent scenery and 
a glorious climate, but also the opportunity to 
visit the greatest coffee growing country in the world. Soon after leaving the Federal 
capital, the train climbs the steep slopes of the Serra do Mar, reaching its heights by a series 
of tunnels and viaducts which are marvels of engineering skill. The tropical verdure of this 
beautiful range lends a particular charm to its scenery, clothing its jagged cliffs and precipi- 
tous gorges in velvety foliage, and giving added beauty to the sparkling streams which 
thread their way down the green slopes, brightened by the varying hues of gorgeous 
blossoms. After leaving the Serra do Mar, the route lies along the valley of the Parahyba 
River, the train crossing the border between the States of Rio and Sado Paulo near the pretty 
little town of Queluz, which is built on both banks of the river, and is surrounded by thriving 
plantations of sugar and coffee. It is the custom among Brazilians to take a small cup of 
black coffee at every station where the train stops long enough to give the opportunity, and 


nowhere in the world is the delicious beverage better prepared than in this land of its 
267 


VIEW OF THE CITY AND HARBOR OF SANTOS. 


268 THE NEW BRAZIL 


greatest production. Passing the flourishing cities of Lorena, Guaratingueta, Pindamon- 
hangaba, Taubaté, Cagapava, Sao José dos Campos, Mogy das Cruzes, and others, the route 
leads through coffee fazendas, sugar -plantations, rice fields, and vineyards, presenting 
glimpses of country life that are both attractive and entertaining. Two trains daily each 
way connect the cities of Rio and Sao Paulo, the mocturnos, or night trains, having through 
sleeping car service, with modern accommodation. 

Travellers who go to Sado Paulo via Santos, reach the capital of the State after two 
hours’ journey from the seaport over the Sao Paulo railway, making the ascent of the Serra 
do Mar on such a steep grade that an altitude of two thousand six hundred feet is attained 
within a distance of five miles. The ascent is divided into four inclines of equal length, the 
trains being pulled up and down by cables, operated by stationary engines. The scenery 
along this road is unsurpassed in picturesque beauty and grandeur, and in the varied 
aspects of Nature, produced by a climate which changes within two hours from tropical 
heat and humidity to the cool, dry atmosphere of the temperate zone. The summit of the 
Serra is sometimes enshrouded in mist, the effect being indescribably weird, as the train 
moves apparently in mid-air, offering only an occasional glimpse of the chasm below. This 
railway is one of the richest in the world, and has at times paid dividends as high as fifty 
per cent. It extends from Santos to Jundiahy, a distance of one hundred miles, and passes 
through the city of Sdo Paulo, midway between these two stations. A short branch runs 
from Campo Limpo, near Jundiahy, to Braganga. The road, which is broad gauge and has 
four tracks, has recently been greatly improved by the construction of new bridges, tunnels, 
and viaducts. All the exports of the State are carried over the Sado Paulo railway to the 
port of Santos, the various lines of the interior connecting with this great artery of traffic 
either at Jundiahy or at Sao Paulo. The handsome station “Luz” at Sado Paulo is the 
property of the Sao Paulo Railway Company; it is the largest and most costly railway 
station in South America, and one of the finest in the world. 

Excursions to the interior over the various systems of railway which cross the State 
in all directions are very popular. They are arranged so that it is possible for one to visit 
the great fazendas and see the industrial progress of the State, while at the same time 
enjoying the wonders of its scenery and the charm of its glorious climate. The Paulista, 
Mogyana, and Sorocabana systems, not including a number of smaller lines in the coast dis- 
trict, form a complete network of railways, crossing the serras, spreading over the plateaux, 
and stretching westward and northward to the confines of the State, and, in some cases, 
beyond. 

The Paulista railway was built by local enterprise, and is one of the most prosperous 
lines in the State. It extends from Jundiahy northward, and, with its various branches, passes 
through rich coffee and sugar growing sections. A trip over this route takes one into the 
heart of the ferra roxa, where the blood-red soil dyes everything its own color. The trees 
are powdered with its sand, the houses have a rosy tint, and even the children playing in 
the streets are crimson-clothed by mother earth. At Campinas, thirty miles north of 


RAILWAY TRAVEL IN SAO PAULO 269 


Jundiahy, the railroad passes through vast coffee fazendas, spreading out to the horizon 
in all directions. 

From Campinas, two railway systems, the Paulista and the Mogyana, run northward, 
the Paulista branching out both to the north and the west. Along this route are the 
flourishing cities of Rio Claro, Ribeirao Bonito, and Brotas, with its picturesque waterfall, its 
rich pastures, and prosperous coffee fazendas; Jahu at the terminus of one of the most 
important branches of the line; Sao Carlos, Araraquara, Sao Martinho, Ribeirdosinho, 
Jaboticabal, and Bebedouro, surrounded by leagues of coffee fazendas, marking the chief 
stopping points of another section which extends almost to the border of the State of 
Minas; and Araras, Pirassununga, Descalvado, and Santa Rita, on the main line that runs 
almost due north, from Campinas through Limeira and Cordeiro to Santa Cruz and Santa 
Veridiana, through a salubrious and picturesque region, rich in coffee fazendas and sugar 
- plantations. The Paulista system of railways covers eight hundred miles and transports 
more than a million tons of freight, annually, chiefly coffee. 

The Mogyana railway crosses the State from Campinas north to the border of Minas, 
two branches terminating at the stations of Santa Rita do Paraizo and Jaguara, on the 


THE NEW VIADUCT ON THE SERRA BETWEEN SAO PAULO AND SANTOS. 


dividing line between the two States, defined by the course of the Rio Grande. The 
Mogyana railway is being extended through Minas to the State of Goyaz. The flourishing 


270 THE NEW BRAZIL 


fazendas of Amparo, Mogy-Mirim, Sado Joao de Boda Vista, Casa Branca, Sao José, Mocéca, 
Sdo Simao, Ribeirao Preto, Batataes, and Franca are situated on this railway. The mileage 


CABLE ROAD BETWEEN SAO PAULO AND SANTOS. 


of the Mogyana railway is nearly equal to that of the Paulista, though not entirely within 
the limits of the State of Sdo Paulo. The scenery along the Mogyana route is often 
picturesque, the railway crossing many beautiful streams as it winds along the fertile valleys 
of the Rio Pardo and its tributaries. 

The great Sorocabana system of railways, consisting of two distinct sections, the 
Sorocabana and the Ituana, traverses the State from the city of Sao Paulo to the remote 
western and northern boundaries.. It was founded in 1892 with the object of forming a 
complete system to connect the interior directly with the port of Santos. The Ituana section 
extends from Jundiahy to Sao Pedro, through the rich agricultural districts of Itaicy, 
Capivary, Piracicaba, It@ and Porto Feliz, an intersecting railway joining the Ituana and 
Sorocabana lines at Itaicy and Mayrink. Mayrink, on the main line, is a pretty little town, 
and the Sorocabana workshops are located there. The operatives have comfortable homes, 


RAILWAY TRAVEL IN SAO PAULO 271 


and in the neighborhood are thriving farms and gardens, which supply them with an 
abundance of products. Mayrink is sixty miles west of Sao Paulo, Barra Funda, Sao Jodo, 
Pinheirinhos and other new stations of the line lying between it and the capital. The scene 
at Barra Funda, on the outskirts of the city of Sao Paulo is particularly animated while the 
work of construction continues, the movement of material for the extension of the lines in 
the west being made chiefly at this point, where the central freight station of the line is 
located. Itu, on the intersecting line between Itaicy and Mayrink, is a historic old city, 
famous as the cradle of the Empire, in honor of which Dom Pedro I. bestowed on it the 
title of “Fidelissima.” Its schools are noted throughout the State, especially the Jesuit 
College, Sdo Luiz Gonzaga, where many great men of Brazil have been educated. Iti was 
the birthplace of the Regent Feij6. The waterfalls of the Tieté, which occur in this locality, 
furnish abundant motive power and several cotton mills and factories have been success- 
fully established, though the most productive cotton region is farther south, along the 
main line of the Sorocabana railway. 

While the Ituana is a regional railway, serving only the traffic of a limited territory, the 
main line of the Sorocabana forms a great artery of transportation, extending, with its 
various branches, to the confines of the State. At Itararé, on the Parana border, it connects 
with the Sao Paulo and Rio Grande system in a vast interstate line of railways through 
Parana, Santa Catharina and Rio Grande do Sul, traversing the entire southern part of the 


VIEW ON THE SAO PAULO RAILWAY. 


republic. Toward the northwest the Sorocabana is being extended from Baurt to provide 
a direct outlet for traffic between Cuyaba, in the State of Matto Grosso, and the seaport 


292 THE NEW BRAZIL 


of Santos. Westward, an extension of the line from Salto Grande and Tibagy, on the 
Paranapanema River (the dividing line between Sao Paulo and Parana) is under con- 
struction to establish com- 
munication through southern 
Matto Grosso, northern Para- 
guay, and the State of Sdo 
Paulo. 

Already the Sorocabana 
system covers eight hundred 
miles under traffic, its lines 
passing through the rich cotton 
growing districts of Sorocaba, 
from which the railroad takes 
its name; across the pasture 
lands of Aracassu and Faxina; 

STATION OF THE LIGHT AND POWER COMPANY, PARNAHYBA. and into the heart of the coffee 
region of Botucatu, Sao Manoel, 
and Sado Paulo dos Agudos. Near Botucatu the road divides, one branch going to Salto 
Grande and the other to Baurt. The Itararé branch leaves the main line at Boituva, one 
hundred and twenty miles west of the capital. Throughout the country traversed by the 
Sorocabana railway, the climate is salubrious and the soil fertile. The annual transportation 
of coffee over this road amounts to two million sacks, and that of cotton to eight million 
kilograms. When the system is completed it will carry the traffic from the heart of the 
continent to the coast. It thus constitutes one of the most important factors in facilitating 
the industrial development of a great part of southern Brazil. 

The State of S40 Paulo owns the Sorocabana system, which was originally the property 
of a company, but was taken-over by the Federal government in 1904, the company having 
forfeited its concession. The government of the State purchased the railway in January 
1905, under the administration of President Tibirica, paying the sum of three million eight 
hundred thousand pounds sterling. The income for the year 1906 was sufficient to cover 
the interest on the capital invested and to leave a surplus of six per cent which was used for 
improvements and new construction on the road. In addition to the Sorocabana, the State 
also owns the Funileiro railway which connects Guanabara with the colony of Campos- 
Salles, a distance of thirty-five miles, and the Cantareira Tramway, twenty miles in length, 
which connects the city of Sdo Paulo with the Serra da Cantareira, at Parnahyba, the Light 
and Power Company’s headquarters. For the purpose of securing a railway service in 
districts not able to support a line, the State has contributed large sums, and liberal loans 
have been made to companies engaged in extending lines that are now in operation. The 
Dourado Railway Company has received government assistance in extending the line from 
Boa Esperanca westward, and the Araraquara Railway Company obtained similar aid in 


RAILWAY TRAVEL IN SAO PAULO 273 


constructing a line from Ribeiraosinho to Sao Jodo do Rio Preto. The government also 
voted a sum of money to complete the Pitangueiras railway to the rice-growing district of 
Viradouro, in the valley of the Mogy-Guassu. A number of short lines belonging to private 
companies make connection with the more important systems of railway. 

In the coast region new railways have recently been constructed to facilitate traffic 
with the interior, and between various ports. The State government has taken the initiative 
in a work of great importance, the construction of a system of lines tributary to the port of 
Sao Sebastido. A railway now in construction from Sado Sebastiao to Mogy das Cruzes, on 
the line of the Central, will enter into competition with the Sado Paulo line by furnishing a 
more direct outlet to the seacoast for the products of a large section of country. Various 
lines are projected from the ports of Cananea, Iguape, and other coast cities to connect 
them with the capital and other points, and facilitate the transportation of the products of 
this region. 

At present all the railroads of the State carry their freight for export over the Sao Paulo 
line to the port of Santos, from which it is shipped to all parts of the globe. Santos is one 
of the best maritime ports of the world, and one of the most important. More than a 
thousand steamers, not counting sailing vessels call during the year at this port, anchoring 
alongside the quay, which extends for more than two miles, from the terminal station of 
the Sado Paulo railway to the suburb of Outeirinhos, on the water front facing the island of 
Santo Amaro. The splendid system of docks at Santos was built by the Docas de Santos 


TERMINUS OF THE SAO PAULO RAILWAY AT SANTOS, SHOWING THE DOCKS. 


Company, which undertook the enterprise in 1892, constructing a great sea wall of granite, 
five feet above the high-water mark, on a solid base varying in thickness from ten to twenty 


274 THE NEW BRAZIL 


feet. The docks are provided with hydraulic and other machinery for the loading and 
unloading of vessels, and the largest ocean liners may be seen receiving and discharging 


MAYRINK, WHERE THE SOROCABANA RAILWAY WORKSHOPS ARE LOCATED, 
SHOWING WORKMEN’S HOMES. 


freight here. The commerce of the port of Santos is increasing year by year, the report of 
the Secretary of Agriculture showing that in 1906 the imports amounted to thirty-three 
million dollars gold and the exports to one hundred million dollars gold, one-third more 
than they were during the previous year. 

The port of Santos, formerly thought to be one of the most insalubrious ports of the 
tropics, though the prevalence of epidemics was always exaggerated, has now become 
one of the most healthfuland least visited by disease. The sanitation of the city and the 
port has been effected through the persistent and constant effort of the government. Santos 
now has perfect drainage and a complete waterworks system; and the hygienic measures 
adopted in the interests of public health promise most satisfactory results. The water 
supply amounts to fifteen million litres daily, a quantity quite adequate to the needs of the 
population, which numbers thirty-five thousand. 

But although Santos is essentially a commercial centre, and there is little in its busy 
streets, lined with warehouses, its docks crowded with shipping, or its business-like 
populace, to indicate the haunts of the scholar, or the sentiment of tradition, yet this 


RAILWAY TRAVEL IN SAO PAULO 275 


bustling city possesses the proud distinction of having been the cradle of some of Brazil’s 
greatest men, and in some of its historic landmarks are to be read the legends of the 
earliest civilization in Brazil. 
The town was founded by 
Braz Cubas in the middle of 
the sixteenth century, and re- 
ceived its name from a hospital 
established by the founder in 
1544, the first charitable insti- 
tution in Brazil, which was 
called Todos os Santos, or All 
Saints, the name “Santos” 
being gradually used to desig- 
nate the town. Braz Cubas =r 

spent fe greater part ate atts VIEW ON THE SES ee er aad SAO JOAO AND 

life in Brazil, died at an ad- 

vanced age and was buried in the chapel of the hospital which he had founded. From the 
neighboring hill of Montserrat, on the summit of which is one of the oldest shrines of 
Brazil, Nossa Senhora de Montserrat, a superb panorama of the city and harbor of Santos 
is presented to view. 

The city of Santos is situated on the northern shore of the island of Sado Vicente, a small 
strip of land lying so close to the mainland as to form a peninsula in the dry season, when 
the river Sao Vicente, on the western boundary, carries no water. A deep channel sepa- 
rates the island of Sao Vicente from the larger one of Santo Amaro, and this channel forms 
the chief entrance to the port of Santos. The bay of Santos is very picturesque, the sur- 
rounding hills sloping down to 
the water’s edge, clothed in the 
beautiful verdure of the tropics. 
At the western extremity of 
the island lies the old town 
of Sdo Vicente, which is con- 
nected with Santos by railway. 
Along the southern shore ex- 
tends the Praia José Menino, 
and the Praia do Embare, popu- 
lar summer resorts, not only 


SOROCABANA STATION OF BARRA FUNDA, SHOWING MATERIAL FOR 
CONSTRUCTION OF THE LINE TO MATTO GROSSO. for the people of Santos, but for 


those of Sao Paulo and other 
interior cities. At the entrance to the channel on the east, the fortress of Barra Grande 
serves as a protection to the port. Opposite the fortress, the suburb of Barra presents 


276 THE NEW BRAZIL 


an attractive appearance with many pretty country homes and shaded driveways. After 
entering the channel from the open bay, the scene becomes even more picturesque, the 
landscape on both sides being varied and charming. Midway up the channel the quay 
begins, at Outeirinhos, continuing to the landing place, which is marked by a long line of 
steamers that press close to the docks. 

From the landing place the city of Santos spreads out, at first through narrow and 
tortuous streets, then extending southward to the more modern part of the city, where 
broader thoroughfares mark the progress of wealth and enterprise. Street cars run in all 
directions, presenting their busiest spectacle at the close of business hours, when they carry 
the tired throng out to the suburbs. Two broad and well-paved avenues, three miles in 
length, Avenida Nebias and Avenida Anna Costa, connect the city with the bay side resort 
of José Menino, forming beautiful promenades in automobile or carriage. 

Across the bay from Santos is situated one of the most delightful resorts in Brazil, the 
seaside city of Guaruja on the island of Santo Amaro. It is built upon a huge knoll, shaped 
like half an orange, overlooking the ocean, and surrounded by high hills covered with virgin 
forests. From the seaport of Santos there are steamers daily to Rio de Janeiro, the passage 
taking from twelve to fifteen hours. All the large passenger as well as freight steamers call 
at Santos, and it is quite usual for passengers to disembark at Santos, take a train over the 
Sao Paulo railway to the city of Sao Paulo, enjoy the magnificent trip over the Serra do Mar, 
and then, after a day’s sojourn in the State capital, continue their journey to Rio by the 
Central railway, through the beautiful Parahyba valley and once more across the Serra do 
Mar, to the Federal capital. By the extension of its railways, the State of Sao Paulo is 
opening the way for the greatest possible development of its vast resources. With railway 
communication it is easy to attract foreign settlers, and colonies established along the high- 
ways of travel flourish and increase in number and prosperity, while manufacturing industries 
grow in proportion to the increase in facilities for transportation. 


SCENE ON THE RIVER TIETE, VIEWED FROM THE RAILWAY TRAIN. 


‘SAVUaIO SANIW AO JLVLS ‘ALNOZIMOH O11494 LV FJOVIVd LNAWNYSAOD FHL 


CHAPTER XVI 


DR. JOAO PINHEIRO DA SILVA, PRESIDENT OF 
MINAS GERAES. 


MINAS GERAES 


O the State of Minas Geraes belongs the 
honor of having sheltered the first mar- 
tyrs of the Republican cause in Brazil, and 
of having been the chief centre of many 
political victories in the history of the empire, 
as well as the home of some of the noblest 
patriots and statesmen whose deeds embel- 
lish the national annals from the colonial 
period to the present day. Minas Geraes, 
like Sdo Paulo, wields an important influ- 
ence in national affairs and is, not only 
politically, but also socially and industrially, 
one of the greatest States of the Union. 
As capitanias, Minas Geraes and Sao Paulo 
were united under one government from 
1709 until 1720, and even after they be- 
came separated remained closely allied in 
adherence to the principles of progress 
and independence, always standing together 
as leaders in the promotion of their coun- 
try’s highest interests. 


The State of Minas Geraes is larger than the republic of France. It covers an area of 
two hundred and fifty thousand square miles, the greater portion of which is an elevated 
plateau, forming part of the vast central tableland of Brazil. It lies in the heart of a rich 
mineral and agricultural region, and its boundary line is marked by six important States: on 
the south are Sao Paulo and Rio, the latter also extending to form part of the eastern 
boundary, which further includes Espirito Santos and a narrow strip of southern Bahia; on 


279 


280 THE NEW BRAZIL 


the north, the whole length of the State is bordered by Bahia; and the western limit is 
defined by the States of Goyaz and Matto Grosso, though the latter merely touches the 
extrerne western point where the confluence of the Rio Grande and Paranahyba forms 
the Parana River. Crossing the State from north to south is the mountain chain of Serra 
da Mantiqueira, which takes various names according to the district it traverses, as Serra do 
Espinhaco, Serra Branca, Serra das Canastras, the last-named being especially noted as the 
source of the great Sdo Francisco River, while the Serra do Espinhaco is remarkable as the 
source of the Rio das Velhas and the Rio Doce, which drain the most important gold and 
diamond lands of Brazil. Although Minas Geraes is one of the interior States, easy access to 
the port of Rio de Janeiro and excellent railway facilities afford every advantage in the promo- 
tion of trade relations; while in climate and fertility there is no State of Brazil more favored. 

Minas Geraes has a population of four million five hundred thousand inhabitants, which 
is greater than that of any other State of Brazil and is equal to that of some of the largest 
States of the United States. It is a notable fact that in this well-populated State, there are 
no very large cities, the population being distributed over all sections, in one hundred and 
seventeen cities of from five thousand to forty thousand inhabitants, besides innumerable 
small towns and villages. There are few evidences of enormous wealth, and none of 
extreme poverty, the general appearance being that of a prosperous and contented people, 
of wholesome tastes and modest living, who are noted for integrity and hospitality, and are 
little given to speculation or extravagance. The Mineiro, as a native of Minas Geraes is called, 
is a great lover of country life, possessed of the spirit of independence, always patriotic and 
an admirer of hardy courage and industry. His philosophy leads him to enjoy the simple 
life, and to seek happiness in the home circle. The library of a Mineiro of culture reveals 
his tendency to study the classics, and it is not unusual to find here the masterpieces of 
ancient and modern thought. One frequently meets children named in honor of some 
grand old hero of philosophy, and there is more than one “Benjamin Franklin” in the State; 
for “Poor Richard” has many sincere and affectionate admirers in the mountain villages of 
Minas Geraes, which has been called the Switzerland of Brazil, and deserves the title as 
much for the freedom-loving character of its people as for the picturesque attractiveness 
of its scenery. 

But if the cities of Minas Geraes are not crowded centres of population, they have the 
advantage of beautiful location and a healthful climate, as well as the charm of a sympa- 
thetic and genial social life. The capital of the State is Bello Horizonte, a new and flourishing 
city of twenty thousand inhabitants, and a conspicuous example of the spirit of progress 
and enterprise which animates the Brazilian of to-day, not only in Minas Geraes and in the 
Federal district but throughout the republic. It is not more than ten years since the site of 
the present city was selected for the capital of the State. Within such a remarkably short 
time the work of construction has been completed with so much efficiency and good taste 
that the new capital presents the appearance of a model city, laid out in broad, well paved 
avenues, lined with shade trees and crossed at right angles by straight and carefully graded 


MINAS GERAES 281 


streets, having many handsome public edifices, and modern-looking residences, which in 
some instances are set in the midst of beautiful gardens. 

Bello Horizonte is built in a lovely valley surrounded by hills, and throughout its length 
runs a small river, a branch of the Rio das Velhas, with a number of pretty cascades at 
intervals to brighten its rippling course. A magnificent park extends along both sides 
of the stream, beautified by great branching trees, shrubs and clinging vines. A broad 
driveway leads through the park, and picturesque by-paths make it a delightful place for a 
promenade. In extent and natural beauty it rivals all other city parks of Brazil. The city 
is distinguished for its wide shaded avenues and the uniformly modern architecture of 
its buildings. The principal avenue, named after the present president of Brazil, who was 
also the founder of Bello Horizonte, “Affonso Penna,” extends through the central part of 
the city for a distance of two miles. This avenue is one hundred and fifty feet broad and 
has three rows of shade trees throughout its length. While driving through Bello Horizonte 
one is constantly reminded of the beautifully shaded avenues of Washington, the Capital 
of the United States, though the latter lacks the picturesque effect of the surrounding hills 


PALACE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR, STATE OF MINAS GERAES, 


in which the long straight streets of Bello Horizonte seem to lose themselves. More than 
ten thousand trees embellish the city’s thoroughfares. At the head of the Avenida Affonso 


282 THE NEW BRAZIL 


Penna, surrounding one of the principal squares of the.city, are situated the palaces of the 
president, and of the secretaries of interior, finance, and agriculture. The president’s palace 
is the handsomest State capital 
in Brazil, and was erected ata 
cost of half a million dollars 
gold. The artistic architecture 
of the interior, especially the 
effective design of the grand 
Staircase and gallery leading to 
the president’s apartments, and 
the appearance of the lofty 
dome, richly ornamented with 
paintings, which surmounts the 
central hall, are notably attract- 
ive. The motto of the State, 
“Libertas quae sera lamen,” 
STREET SCENE IN BELLO HORIZONTE. appears in relief over the main 
entrance on the State coat-of- 
arms, which also bears allegorical figures representing agriculture and mining. The motto 
is the heritage left to his native State by the martyr Tiradentes and his followers, who 
adopted as their ensign a green triangle on a white ground, emblematic of the Trinity, 
having the above words from Virgil surrounding the three sides. 

Not only is the city of Bello Horizonte well paved and lighted, provided with a 
complete system of electric street railways, and supplied daily with fifteen million litres of 
water from four surrounding reservoirs, as well as furnished with modern drainage facilities, 
but it is centrally located in the State, on the principal line of railway, the Central, only four 
hundred miles from the Federal capital. As the chief seat of the State government, 
Bello Horizonte is the residence of the president, Dr. Jodo Pinheiro da Silva, and of the sec- 
retaries of the various departments. Dr. Pinheiro has been twice president of Minas, having 
filled this office during the first years of the republic as the successor to Cesario Alvim. 
His well-known republican principles, and the patriotic and disinterested character of his 
Services to his country have always given him a high place in the esteem of his fellow 
countrymen. During the present administration, progress has been particularly notable in 
educational and industrial affairs, the reports of the secretaries of these departments, 
Dr. Manoel Thomas de Carvalho Britto and Dr. Jodo Braulio showing that marked develop- 
ment has resulted from the judicious efforts devoted to these branches of the government. 

Public instruction in Minas Geraes has steadily advanced in scope and efficiency since 
the inauguration of the republic, especial attention being given to primary training, which is 
the basis of general education in any country. As early as 1850, Minas had its Horace 
Mann in the person of Canon Bhering, who was instrumental in filling the public schools 


MINAS GERAES 283 


and in bringing about an era of development in the history of education in this State which 
left its impress upon the succeeding generation, and may still be noted in the Mineiro’s appre- 
ciation of educational advantages. From motives of economy, however, the work so well 
begun by Canon Bhering was allowed to fall behind, and it was not until twenty years later 
that education recovered from this drawback and became again a subject of the government’s 
most serious consideration. At that time the Normal School of Ouro Preto (then the capital 
of the province) was founded, followed the next year by the inauguration of the Normal 
School of Campanha. The number of schools was increased and a larger average attend- 
ance secured. But at no period in the history of the State was the attendance so large as it 
has been within the past fifteen years, and the outlook is especially favorable for its growth 
since the reorganization of the school system, which has been effected during the present 
administration. The attendance for the year 1906 was ninety-six thousand eight hundred and 
twenty-seven pupils in the primary schools, the average attendance at each school being sixty- 
four pupils. The budget for primary school expenses reaches about a million dollars gold 
annually. There are nine school groups, or graded schools in the State, of which two are 
located in the capital, two in Juiz de Fora, one each in Sao Joao Nepomuceno, Arassuahy, 
Lavras, Oliveira, and Passa Quatro, the attendance in these schools numbering four thousand 
pupils. Tuition is free and compulsory by law. Minas Geraes has many public-spirited 
citizens, who, although not able, like a Stanford or a Vanderbilt, to endow great universities, 
have contributed liberally to public instruction. Colonel Francisco Fernandes de Andrade e 
Silva, a capitalist of the city of Oliveira, paid out of his private funds for the site and building 
of the school in Oliveira; and 
an Instruction League has raised 
funds by popular subscription 
for the same purpose in Ouro 
Fino. Private initiative has se- 
cured the necessary land and 
buildings for school groups in 
Uberaba, Rio Pardo, and Theo- 
philo Ottoni, and the munici- 
palities are aiding every effort 
put forth in this way to pro- 
mote the cause of education. 
In Sabara, Itabira do Matto 
Dentro, Sado Caetano da Vargem 
Grande, Guaranesia, Rio Novo, 
Pitanguy, Aguas Virtuosas, Bar- 
bacena, Cataguazes, and Villa 
Santa Quiteria, new buildings have been secured for school groups. Everywhere in the 
State, interest in education is shown by a willing acquiescence on the part of the people 


PALACE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, BELLO HORIZONTE. 


284 THE NEW BRAZIL 


in the various reforms made by the government. An important feature of the educational 
methods employed in this State is the pedagogical conference held annually at the capital 


COLLEGE OF LAW, BELLO HORIZONTE. 


as a means of stimulating endeavor among the teachers in the more remote districts, and 
also for the purpose of affording them the benefits of association with their fellow-workers. 
Lectures are given on these occasions by a distinguished educator in primary work, Miss Maria 
Guilhermina Loureiro de Andrade, who was trained in the Normal Schools of New York, 
and has been identified with the inauguration of primary schools in Sado Paulo, Rio, and 
Minas Geraes, and who is now director of the second school group of Bello Horizonte. 
Under the Department of Superior Instruction, the Free School of Law was established in 
1892, and also an advanced School of Pharmacy; the secondary courses are taught in the 
Gymnasio Mineiro, modelled after the Gymnasio Nacional, and having dependencies in Ouro 
Preto and.in Barbacena. In addition to the Normal Schools, several institutions exist under 
the charge of the Department of Special Instruction, such as the School of Mines, the 
Collegio Mineiro, Lyceu de Artes e Officios, Seminario de Marianna, Collegio das Irmas de 
Caridade [College of the Sisters of Charity], and others. 

As the future greatness of the State of Minas depends largely upon its agricultural and 
mineral development, especial attention is given to instruction in these branches, which are 
incorporated in the course of study from the primary school to the university. Agricultural 
schools and model farms have been established, the school of Madeiro and the model farm 
of Gamelleira, four miles from Bello Horizonte, having been purchased by the State for this 


MINAS GERAES 285 


purpose. In connection with the agricultural schools, the government has installed apparatus 
for sinking artesian wells, for purposes of irrigation. In these institutions the most improved 
and modern methods of agriculture are taught and practical demonstrations made by classes 
in the field, where all the work of a farm is carried on during the school term. 

The fertility of the soil of Minas Geraes permits the cultivation of all kinds of products, 
and upon the grassy plains of the upper plateaus cattle raising is particularly favored by the 
conditions of climate and vegetation. Even in the high serras, the sheltered valleys produce 
sugar cane, Indian corn, rice, and bananas. Agriculture flourishes with little labor. Since 
the introduction of modern implements and machinery, harvests of all kinds have been 
greatly increased, though even in remote districts where agriculture is carried on in the 
most primitive fashion, bountiful crops of Indian corn are gathered from farms which have 
had no other preparation than simply burning off the underbrush from a new piece of land, 
making holes with a sharpened stick, and dropping into them the seed, leaving to nature all 
further responsibility as to results. Sugar cane also grows without cultivation. The Sado 
Francisco valley yields large crops of tobacco, Indian corn, sugar cane, cotton, rice, mandioca, 
yams, Sweet potatoes, and black beans, or feéjées ; Irish potatoes, rye, barley, and vanilla are 
also grown; and fruit is plentiful, of excellent quality and great variety. 

The entire State is watered by the Sao Francisco and its tributaries; by the Rio Doce, 
the Jequitinhonha (celebrated for the diamonds and other precious stones found along its 
course), and the Mucury, all of which flow into the Atlantic Ocean; and by the Rio Grande, 
Paranahyba, and other branches of the Parana, that drain the southwestern part of the 


PALACE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE, BELLO HORIZONTE. 


State. The course of the Sao Francisco is almost due north, from its source near the 
southern border of Minas Geraes throughout the entire State, receiving from both sides 


286 THE, NEV BRAZIL 


large tributaries, navigable at intervals; their course, like that of the main stream, being 
interrupted by waterfalls which are capable of supplying motive force for the largest 
manufacturing enterprises. The cascades of the Sao Francisco River are among the most 
picturesque in the world, and 
several of these occur within 
the State of Minas Geraes. The 
first leap is made by the Casca 
d’Auta over a precipice of one 
hundred feet into a narrow 
channel between high perpen- 
dicular walls, through which 
the current rushes madly, 
plunging into the cascade Pira- 
pora, and receiving imme- 
diately afterward its proud 
confluent, the Rio das Velhas, 


THE BIRTHPLACE OF PRESIDENT AFFONSO PENNA, SANTA BARBARA, ; 
STATE OF MINAS GERAES. as it pours out a turbulent 


flood into the great stream. 
The course of this river extends for more than two thousand miles, draining, with its tribu- 
taries, the States of Minas Geraes, Bahia, Pernambuco, Sergipe, and Alagoas. The valley of 
the Sao Francisco is unsurpassed in fertility, furnishing one of the richest sources of revenue 
to the State, though its enormous productiveness has not yet been thoroughly exploited. 
The chief agricultural product of the State of Minas is coffee, which is grown on a large 
scale in the southern section, the export for 1906 amounting to one hundred and forty-three 
million two hundred and fifty-four thousand four hundred and ninety-eight kilograms. 
Extensive fazendas stretch along the valleys of the Parahybuna, a branch of the Parahyba 
River, and the Sapucahy, a branch of the Rio Grande. But though coffee culture occupies 
the principal share of attention, other products are gaining in importance annually, especially 
sugar cane, rice, cotton and cereals. In order to encourage the culture of cereals, the 
State has adopted a protective tariff on all imported cereals that can be grown on its soil. 
It is the constant effort of the government to promote agricultural industry in every possible 
way, and, in addition to the special schools and the protective tariff, a system of agricul- 
tural credit has been established, enabling farmers to pass through a bad season safely or to 
withstand the misfortunes of an over-productive harvest with its attendant low prices. 
Recently a North American company with a capital of half a million dollars, was formed in 
the State, having secured the concession for a large tract of land on which to cultivate 
hemp and other fibres, under a guarantee to plant, within four years, not less than a million 
trees. North American experts have also been engaged by the government to cultivate rice 
according to the most approved modern methods, and under agreement to employ not less 
than ten apprentices annually, who shall have an opportunity to study the system used. 


MINAS GERAES 287 


The rice exported in 1906 amounted to four million one hundred and twenty-two thousand 
seven hundred and eight kilograms, five times the quantity harvested the year previous. 

In the north and west of the State extend vast pasture lands, the principal wealth of 
this region arising from cattle raising and dairy products. The exports of cattle from 
Minas Geraes during the year 1906 was two hundred and nine thousand four hundred and 
sixty-four head, valued at seven million dollars gold. 

Dairy produce has grown to be one of the most important exports. ‘‘Minas butter” is 
especially noted for its quality, and bears an international record, having secured the highest 
premium at the World’s Exposition of St. Louis in 1904. The export of this product has 
increased within the past six years from thirty thousand to one million five hundred 
thousand kilograms annually. ‘Minas cheese,” “Minas eggs,” and “fresh Minas milk” are 
familiar signs in the stores of Rio de Janeiro, which gets its chief dairy supply from this 
source. The manufacture of wine is a growing industry in Minas Geraes, the demand for 
home consumption increasing with the supply; grapes of several distinct varieties are 
cultivated, of which the “Isabella” is the most popular for wine manufacturing purposes. 
According to the best authorities, the ferruginous nature of the soil and the abundance of 
gravel adapt it especially to the needs of viticulture, which promises to be one of the most 
successful industries in Brazil. In various localities, principally in Barbacena and Itabira 
de Matto Dentro, the silkworm industry is an important source of revenue. The favor- 
able climate and the success with which the mulberry tree is planted in any part of the 
State, promise a great future for this product, which requires little labor and is cultivated 
chiefly by the women of the 
community. 

There are unlimited oppor- 
tunities for the small farmer in 
Minas Geraes, and the foreign 
colonies of the State are pros- 
perous and growing in impor- 
tance. The State government 
has recently set apart eight 
colonial centres, divided into 
one thousand and twenty- 
seven lots, covering an area 
of about twenty-five thousand 
acres. These centres are: Rod- 
rigo Silva, situated in the muni- ; CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, BELLO HORIZONTE. 
cipal district of Barbacena; 

Nova-Baden, in that of Aguas Virtuosas; Francisco Salles in Pouso Alegre; and Affonso 
Penna, Bias Fortes, Carlos Prates, Adalberto Ferraz and Americo Werneck in the neighbor- 
hood of the capital. There are three thousand colonists in these settlements, chiefly Italians, 


288 THE NEW BRAZIL 


Portuguese, Austrians, French, and Germans. The older colonies, established years ago, 
have grown to be flourishing towns, especially those settled by the Germans, Theophilo 
Ottoni in the north and Juiz de Fora 
in the south. 

The city of Juiz de Fora, in the 
southern part of the State, is an im- 
portant industrial and commercial 
centre, containing twenty thousand 
inhabitants. It is located on the main 
line of the Central railway, in a region 
of great productiveness, and is blessed- 
with a climate of mild and salubrious 
character. It is of comparatively mod- 
ern growth, dating from the middle of 
the nineteenth century; its streets and 
buildings are of substantial and hand- 
some appearance, its numerous edu- 
cational and charitable institutions are 
in a flourishing condition, and the 
municipality enjoys the advantages of 
such modern improvements as electric 
lighting, good pavements, a street car 
system, and waterworks. One of 
, the most important establishments is 

WATERFALL IN THE PARK, BELLO HORIZONTE. the immigrant station, which provides 

| every convenience for the foreign 

colonist until he is finally settled in the land as a permanent resident. Among the chief manu- 

facturing industries of Juiz de Fora are cotton mills, agricultural implement factories, machine 

shops, foundries, and various other important enterprises. Juiz de Fora is connected by rail- 
way with Rio de Janeiro, two hundred miles away, and with the chief towns of the State. 

Railways traverse the State of Minas in every direction, covering an extent of three 
thousand miles. The longest road is the Minas Western, seven hundred miles in extent, 
which begins at Sitio, a station on the Central railway, and runs northward and westward, 
passing through the populous and thriving town of Sao Jodo d’El Rei in the fertile valley 
of the Rio das Mortes, one of the most important educational and industrial centres of the 
State; through Lavras, in a rich agricultural region, drained by the Rio Grande; passing many 
beautiful, picturesque towns, noted for a salubrious climate and great fertility of soil, such 
as Oliveira, Bom Successo, Itapecerica, Pitanguy; and reaching its northern terminus near 
Abaeté, in the pastoral district of the State, and celebrated for the discovery of some of 
the largest diamonds taken out of Brazil. The Leopoldina system of railways extends into 


MINAS GERAES 289 


the State of Minas and covers more than six hundred miles with its various branches, 
running northward from Serraria, a station on the Central railway near the southern border, 
to Saude, through a fertile coffee growing region. On this line is located the city of 
Rio Novo, celebrated for its agriculture, especially coffee growing. It lies in the valley 
of the Piau River, and is one of the stations on the Juiz de Fora and Piau railway, a short 
line which traverses this rich coffee growing region. Leopoldina, Pomba, Cataguazes, 
Visconde do Rio-Branco, and Ponte Nova are important towns on the Leopoldina railway, 
all producing an abundance of coffee as well as of sugar and cereals. 

The Central railway of Brazil has six hundred miles of road in the State of Minas 
Geraes, which it enters near Serraria in the valley of the Parahyba River, extending north 
to Curvello. Many of the larger cities of the State are situated on this line, which passes 
through Juiz de Fora, Barbacena, a picturesque and progressive city, five thousand feet 
above sea level, with a population of fifteen thousand, and through an important pastoral 
centre, Queluz, Sabara, and Bello Horizonte. A branch line of this system runs to Ouro Preto. 


OURO PRETO, THE FORMER CAPITAL OF THE STATE OF MINAS GERAES. 


The former capital of the State, Ouro Preto, is a picturesque mountain town of twenty 
thousand inhabitants, situated on the slope of one of the mountains of the Serra de Ouro 
Preto at a height of about four thousand feet above the level of the sea, in the basin of the 


290 THE NEW BRAZIL 


Rio Doce, and not far from the headwaters of the Rio das Velhas. It is one of the oldest 
cities of Brazil, having been an important centre of government when Minas Geraes was a 


JUIZ DE FORA, A PROSPEROUS CITY OF MINAS GERAES. 


capitania of Portugal and, as the possessor of enormous wealth, one of the mother-country’s 
most carefully guarded strongholds. But the chief interest attaching to this quaint old town 
is derived from its share in the memorable events connected with the Tiradentes conspiracy, 
and the fate of the little company of poets whose dream of liberty was so ruthlessly 
shattered by the cruel sentence of a rigorous court. In the principal public square, appro- 
priately named “Praga da Independencia,” a marble column, surmounted by a statue of 
the martyred Tiradentes, commemorates the execution of the patriot; the pedestal of the 
monument is the original stone which was used as a pillory for the condemned, and to , 
which he was bound when publicly scourged upon the very spot now marked by the 
splendid column. Many historic places formerly belonging to celebrated Mineiros are 
preserved because of their associations; the house of Claudio Manoel da Costa is still to 
be seen, with the very balcony on which were gathered the enthusiastic plotters for liberty 
on so many occasions; also the Casa dos Contos, where he was arrested. The Casa dos 
Ouvidores, where “Dirceu” wrote his impassioned verses to “Marilia,” and the modest little 
house where Marilia knelt at the window for long hours in the hope of seeing again her 


MINAS GERAES 291 


banished lover, are among the sights interesting to all visitors who know the story of the 
city’s past; and the locality where once stood the home of Tiradentes, which was destroyed, 
is guarded as sacredly as the public square that was the scene of his execution, and where 
his head was exposed on a pike as a warning to all rebellious spirits. This city was the 
home of the great statesman Vasconcellos and of the poet Guimaraes, and is the birthplace 
of many prominent Brazilians of to-day. In addition to its buildings of exclusively historic 
interest, Ouro Preto has several churches and schools of importance. The School of Mines 
is one of the best institutions of the kind in existence, besides which the city has the Lyceu 
Mineiro, Escola de Pharmacia, and other educational establishments. A few miles distant 
from Ouro Preto is situated the picturesque town of Santa Barbara, which possesses espe- 
cial interest as the birthplace of President Affonso Penna. Caethé, in the same section, is a 
thriving centre of- industry, particularly noted for its ceramic factory, the largest in the State. 
The Sapucahy railway stands next to the Central in mileage, having an extension of 
three hundred miles from Baependy, the centre of a fertile agricultural district near the 
border of the State of Sdo Paulo, westward to Sapucahy, where it forms a junction with 
the Mogyana railway in western Minas. The Mogyana line is being extended to enter the 
State of Goyaz, and provide an outlet for its rich harvests. On this route is the flourishing 
little city of Uberaba, well paved and lighted with electricity, having one of the best colleges 
of the State, as well as numerous churches, hospitals, and grammar schools. Other impor- 
tant roads are the Bahia and Minas, the. Minas and Rio, the Guaxupé and the Paraopeba 
lines. The principal cities along the route of the Sapucahy are Ouro Fino, Pouso Alegre, 
Affonso Penna, Itajuba, Chris- 
tina, Soledade, and Caxambu, 
the last-named being situated 
near the Baependy terminus. 
Caxambu is famous for its 
mineral springs, which annually 
attract a large number of health- 
seekers not only from every 
part of Brazil but from other 
South American countries. The 
springs are located near the base 
of the hill of Caxambut, and the 
Six principal founts, which have 
been analyzed and found to 
contain therapeutic properties 
of the highest value, are named 
“Dom Pedro,” “Dona Theresa,” 
“Isabel Princeza” (Condessa d’Eu), “Conde d’Eu,” “Dona Leopoldina,” and “Duque de 
Saxe.” In their composition, the Caxambu waters resemble those of Baden, Falkenhalde, 


THE NATIONAL CERAMIC FACTORY OF CAETHE, MINAS GERAES. 


292 THE NEW BRAZIL 


and Spa, though they have the advantage of being within the reach of moderate means, and 
less subject to counterfeit imitations than the productions of the more renowned watering 
places. The use of the Caxambu waters is of comparatively recent date, though they are 


THE PARK OF CAXAMBU, STATE OF MINAS GERAES. 


supposed to have been discovered a century ago by some farmers of the village near by, 
and were later tested by a German traveller who pronounced them of great value. In 
1873 a Scientific commission, appointed by Counsellor Joao Alfredo, then a minister of the 
empire, made a complete analysis of the waters, and since that time their fame has steadily 
increased, especially as regards the virtues of the springs “Isabel Princeza” and “Duque de 
Saxe,” the latter being particularly popular, for its sulphurous, ferruginous, and gaseous 
properties. The ‘Dona Leopoldina” spring is magnesian, and the “Isabel Princeza” ferru- 
ginous and gaseous. Both supply an abundance of water. In the waters of all the Caxambu 
springs there are properties which make them notably efficacious in the treatment of rheu- 
matism, nervous troubles, dyspepsia, anemia, and similar maladies. The town of Caxambu 
occupies an ideal location among the mountains, at an altitude of three thousand feet above 
sea level, and during the summer season (which in the southern hemisphere is at its 
height in January and February), the hotels and sanatoriums are crowded with guests. 
Pretty little chalets look out from bowers of green, and refreshing streams bubble out of 
hidden recesses in the rocks, tumbling down the hillsides in sparkling eagerness. A beau- 
tiful park, in which are fountains and lakes, the haunt of aquatic birds of varied species, is 
a favorite resort in the evening; and in the early morning joyous cavalcades of young people 
may be seen on their way to some neighboring town, as Baependy, or Cascata, or, perhaps, 


MINAS GERAES 293 


riding off to lose sight of mundane things in quiet mountain glens, where the imagination 
has free play, to dream its sweetest dream of romance, undisturbed by the reality. To be 
restored to health in the midst of such charming surroundings should be more pleasing to 
the invalid than to be placed in 
the midst of a crowd of suffer- 
ing people, hemmed in at every 
turn and oppressed by the in- 
evitable sense of being but an 
atom in the great throng that 
surges back and forth at the 
fashionable health resorts of 
Europe. In this peaceful retreat 
the virgin forest is still near, 
and many songbirds come from 
its shady depths to flit among 
the trees of Caxambt park, 
trilling their sweet melodies. 
At present the mineral springs of Caxambu, as well as those of Lambary and Cambu- 
quiry, are being exploited by the Caxambu, Lambary, and Cambuquiry Company, under a 
contract with the government of the State of Minas Geraes, and many important improve- 
ments are being introduced, not only in the service of the bathing establishments but in the 
beautifying of the three resorts. Like those of Caxambu, the springs of Villa de Aguas 
Virtuosas de Lambary and of Cambuquiry are very accessible, being on the Musambinho 
railway, which connects with the Minas and Rio line. The analysis of the Lambary and 
Cambuquiry waters was made at the same 
time as those of Caxambu, and during the 
past thirty years they have been known and 
used for their wonderful curative properties. 
Even those who have never been to 
Caxambu and Lambary are-well acquainted 
with the mineral waters which bear these 
names, the “Lambary” being a particularly 
excellent water, preferred to the most cele- 
brated foreign brands by many connoisseurs 
of table waters. ‘““Caxambu” and “Lambary” 
THE MINERAL SPRING ‘‘ DUQUE DE SAXE,” AT CAXAMBU. are to be found in all the South American 
countries of the Atlantic coast, and can be 

obtained on board steamers visiting these ports, their palatable quality and therapeutic value 
having made them popular wherever tested. It is possible that Minas may yet be as famous 
for her mineral waters as are the States of Europe and America that have produced the 


THE MINERAL SPRING “ISABEL PRINCEZA,” AT CAXAMBU. 


294 THE NEW BRAZIL 


waters of Vichy and Saratoga. Other mineral springs of great value exist at Villa de Pocos 
de Caldas and at Sao Lourengo, where bathing establishments have been installed according 
to modern plans, and hotels have been erected to accommodate the season’s guests. 

Minas Geraes ranks third among the Brazilian States in the amount of its revenue, 
which for the year 1907 reached the sum of five million five hundred thousand dollars gold, 
and is exceeded only by those of Sao Paulo and Amazonas. With the favorable conditions 
for rapid development which the State enjoys under the present administration, the future 
promises unlimited increase in every branch of industry. The president of the State is 
elected every four years and may appoint four secretaries to his cabinet. The State has 
three bishoprics, those of Diamantina (since 1863), Marianna (since 1896), and Pouso-Alegre. 
Congress is composed of two houses, the Chamber of Deputies numbering forty-eight mem- 
bers, elected for four years, and the Senate twenty-four members, serving for eight years, 
half of the latter being elected every four years. The progress of the State has always been 
of a character to commend the judgment and patriotism of her people. Bold and fearless as 
pioneers when the country needed men of such mettle to open up the unknown regions of 
the vast interior and civilize their savage inhabitants, the Mineiros have shown equally noble 
characteristics in the more peaceful tasks of Social and political life. There has never been 
an occasion in the history of Brazil when the natives of this grand old State have faltered in 
the face of their country’s need, or hesitated to risk all that life holds dearest in the loyal, 
faithful, unflinching, patriotic discharge of duty. From the earliest days of their history 
they have been devoted adherents to the principles of political independence, and have 
shown a proud and determined resistance to every effort to infringe upon their heaven-born 
rights, or to treat their sacred privileges with contempt. They have ever been apprecia- 
tive of the advantages of intellectual training, and the results are apparent in the literary 
advancement of this State, to which Brazil owes many of its greatest statesmen and poets. 
In the future greatness of the republic, Minas Geraes will occupy an important place, 
socially and industrially, with its wonderful store of natural riches, the delights of its sunny 
skies and fragrant atmosphere; the incomparable blessing of its abundant rivers, ample 
forests, and “the cattle upon a thousand hills.” 


THE POST OFFICE, BELLO HORIZONTE. 


:? ae , | - shod’ © Lo oa § : » WW, 
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Te > 34 he a 

be a ae » ah Je a 7 


QUARRY AT MORRO VELHO, MINAS GERAES. 


CHAPTER XVII 


THE MINES OF MINAS GERAES 


EW countries can boast such an abun- 
dance and variety of mineral resources 
as Minas Geraes, which derives its name, 
signifying ‘General Mines,” from the indus- 
try that gave it existence, and which owes 
to this powerful attraction the preponderance 
of its population among the States of Brazil. 
The glitter of gold and the flash of gems 
have possessed a singular fascination for 
mankind from time immemorial, and the 
AN intimate relation which these treasures bear 
an ea a to the joys and sorrows of the human family 
furnishes the subject of many enchanting 
myths, traditions, and romances. Human nature has not greatly changed throughout the 
ages in its predilections, the same instinct that was illustrated in the sacred guarding of 
the treasure in the garden of the Hesperides still existing in the motive of the twentieth- 
century miser; the “golden apple” is as invaluable an aid in securing the good offices of 
Venus nowadays as it was when Paris won Helen of Troy; the irresistible magnetism 
of costly jewels is as potent with the modern belle as it was with the distinguished guest of 
King Solomon; and, in various guises, the popular idol of society is, as it has always been, 
no other than the much-worshipped golden calf of Israel’s camp. This universal attraction 
toward the precious product of the mines has given to the gold and the diamond fields a 
special charm; and every epidemic of the “fever” which invariably follows gold discovery 
has had the inevitable accompaniment of prodigal waste and barbaric display. Of all the 
fabulous tales related of silver kings and bonanza princes, the palm for extravagance belongs 
to the history of early: mining days in Brazil, when horses were shod with gold; when 
lawyers supported their pleadings before the judge with gifts of what appeared at first sight 
297 


298 THE NEW BRAZIL 


to be the choicest oranges and bananas, but proved to be solid gold imitations of these 
fruits; when guests were entertained at dinner by the discovery of gold pebbles in their 


DIAMANTINA, THE CENTRE OF THE DIAMOND MINING INDUSTRY IN MINAS GERAES. 


soup instead of grains of corn; when a nugget was the most convenient medium of 
exchange in the money market. 

Tradition has woven a very interesting story about the first discovery of the precious 
metal in Brazil, with a touch of the supernatural that entirely rescues this important event 
from the unattractive realm of the commonplace. It is, that, as early as the sixteenth 
century, a serfanejo, or backwoodsman, of Sao Paulo, having heard that gold and precious 
stones were to be found in the remote interior, organized a band of followers and proceeded 
as far as the headwaters of the Parana River, where he encountered several Indians decked 
out in gorgeous array and wearing costly gold ornaments. He demanded of them to be 
taken to the place where the gold had been found; and upon their refusal to give up the 
secret, the serfanejo, with a great display of anger, took from his pouch a flask of rum, 
poured out a quantity, and set fire to it, exclaiming, in a voice of thunder: “See! Thus I 
will burn up all your rivers, if you do not show me where your gold is to be found!” The 
Indians were panic-stricken at this sight, and cried out, in superstitious terror: “Anhan- 
guera!l Anhanguera!” meaning “wizard.” Their leader was brought to terms without 
further difficulty, a guide was secured, and the party proceeded at once to the place, where 
they obtained a large amount of the precious metal. 

From authentic sources it is learned that gold was discovered in the seventeenth century 
in the State of Minas Geraes. About the middle of the eighteenth century, the gold output 


THE MINES OF MINAS GERAES 299 


was at its height, the revenue from this product being enormous. It is said that, in a 
certain district, five thousand pounds’ weight was panned from placers within the area of 
a square mile in one year, and from another region a hundred pounds’ weight was collected 
in one night. In the year 1792, the gold registered in Rio de Janeiro was three hundred 
and sixty thousand pounds in weight, and, from recent researches among old archives, an 
English authority has put the total amount of the gold output of Minas Geraes at the 
enormous value of two hundred million pounds sterling. 

Although gold is found in nearly every State of Brazil, the most important mines are 
those of Minas Geraes, which, even under the primitive processes of mining that pre- 
vailed a century ago, never ceased to be profitable. The industry did not yield such 
enormous returns during the nineteenth century as during the earlier period of its exploita- 
tion; but that was not due to the exhaustion of the mines, but to the fact that they were 
worked only superficially by the wasteful methods followed at that time, and when a more 
Scientific system became necessary there was general discouragement, which was increased 
by the heavy taxation imposed, the uncertainty about property rights, and the confusion of 
the mining laws. Since these evils have, 
happily, been remedied, a revival of gold 
mining has taken place, and the outlook is 
favorable for increased prosperity. 

The oldest gold mine in actual opera- 
tion, not only in Brazil but in the world, is 
that of Morro Velho, situated near the main 
line of the Central railway, about midway 
between Ouro Preto, the former capital of 
Minas Geraes, and Bello Horizonte, its pres- 
ent capital. Morro Velho is the property of 
the Sao Joao del Rey Gold Mining Company, 
an English corporation, which began the 
exploitation of the mine in 1834, though it 
had been worked in a primitive way ever 
since colonial times. Modern machinery is 
now used in the mine and many costly 
improvements have recently been intro- 
duced. The ore yields an ounce to the ton 
and the annual production averages eighty 
thousand ounces. The Passagem mine, sit- 
uated in the vicinity of the historic old town A CHARITY HOSPITAL OF DIAMANTINA, COLONIAL PERIOD. 
of Marianna, a few leagues to the southeast of 
Ouro Preto, ranks next to Morro Velho in importance, having an annual output of twenty- 
three thousand ounces of gold; this mine and the S40 Bento mine of Santa Barbara, the 


300 LH EeNEV BRA Ze 


third in production in the State, are also owned by English companies. The Santa Quiteria 
mine near Santa Barbara and the Descoberto, Juca Vieira, Cuyaba, and Vira Copos mines of 


A STREET SCENE IN DIAMANTINA. 


Caethé are prosperous centres of the gold mining industry. In the northern part of the 
State rich gold fields have been discovered at Minas Novas, Itabira, Serro, Conceicdo, and 
in other localities. Minas Novas is picturesquely situated among the mountains of the 
Serra do Chipre in the valley of the Arassuahy River, a tributary of the gold and diamond- 
bearing Jequitinhonha, which, with the Rio Doce, drains the most valuable mining region 
of the State. 

The diamond mines of the Jequitinhonha valley have been famous for nearly two 
centuries, and the story of their discovery is related in various ways. According to some 
authorities, the diamonds were found by the gold miners, who at first regarded them as mere 
curiosities, and used them as counters in gambling, until a worthy friar, happening to observe 
this base use of Fortune’s favorite bauble, informed the governor of the province, who imme- 
diately notified the king. The discovery was first officially reported in Lisbon in 1729, and the 
first gems were sent to Rome by Jodo V. as a present to the pope. Several of the most 
celebrated diamonds of the world have since been found in Brazilian mines. ‘The “‘Braganza,” 
the most highly prized of the crown jewels of Portugal, was taken from Caethé, about the 
middle of the eighteenth century. Connoisseurs differ as to its value, and its weight has 
been variously stated, but it is world-renowned as a rare and beautiful gem. The “Regent,” 
named in honor of Dom Jodo VI., and worn by him on all great occasions, was found in 1791, 


THE MINES OF MINAS GERAES 301 


under circumstances of peculiar interest. Three men, convicted of a capital offence, had 
been condemned to spend the remainder of their days in the far west of Minas, and were 
forbidden, under penalty of death, to enter a city. After wandering about for several years, 
searching for treasure in the apparently vain hope of some day being able to purchase their 
pardon, they suddenly came upon this diamond, weighing nearly an ounce. Recognizing 
its great value, and eager to test its power as a means of securing their pardon, they told 
their secret to a priest, begging him to accompany them to the city and to intercede for 
them with the governor, to whom they submitted the precious stone they had found. As a 
result they were granted their pardon and permitted to return to their homes, though they 
received no further reward. The “Estrella do Sul,” also a product of Minas Geraes, and now 
the valued possession of an Oriental potentate, the Rajah of Baroda, has a history similar to 
that of the “ Regent.”” It was picked up at Bagagem, in the western part of the State, by a poor 
negro slave, who gave it to her master as the price of her freedom. It afterward proved to 


A CONDUIT FOR DIAMOND MINING PURPOSES. 


be worth fifteen million dollars, and still ranks among the most costly gems in existence. 
Aside from its intrinsic worth, it possesses a unique value as representing the highest price 


302 THE NEW BRAZIL 


WASHING DIAMONDS. 


ever paid for the blessed boon of human liberty. In the rough state, this precious stone 
weighed two hundred and fifty carats, and, when cut, about half as heavy. It was 
discovered in the year 1854. | 

The history of diamond mining in Brazil and the modern processes of the industry 
present many interesting features. The great centre of the diamond district is a town of 
ten thousand inhabitants, situated in the State of Minas, about six hundred miles from Rio 
de Janeiro, and named, from its chief product, Diamantina. It was originally a gold mining 
camp, until the discovery of diamonds early in the eighteenth century transformed it in 
appearance and character. For a century after their discovery, diamonds were mined 
in Brazil as a monopoly of the crown, all diamond mines being declared State property by 
the king of Portugal; and it was only after the abdication of the first emperor of Brazil 
that private diamond mining was legalized by the national government, in the year 1832. 
The methods of mining pursued by the government officials in charge of this valuable 
property of the State were extremely careless and shortsighted, the main object, apparently, 
being to get with the least delay the greatest amount of treasure possible. As a result, there 
are large deposits of diamond-bearing gravel which can never be mined because buried 
under the detritus of other workings. 

Diamond-bearing gravel is usually found in the interstices of the rocks and boulders 
that block the current of the mountain streams in their first steep descent down the narrow _ 


THE MINES OF MINAS GERAES 303 


ravines near the summit of the serra, before they reach the broader bed of the river below. 
An experienced miner easily recognizes it by the presence of certain other minerals which 
are found only where the diamond is indicated. 

There are four different methods of diamond mining practised in the Diamantina district, 
according to the locality in which the precious stones are found. The first method consists 
of a process of concentration, by which the diamond-bearing gravel that has been washed 
down from the high serra into the stream and separated from the other detritus by its 
greater weight (the specific gravity of the diamond being about 3.6, much greater than that 
of ordinary rock), is collected and worked up through an operation similar to the old- 
fashioned gold-panning. The lighter stones are separated from the diamond-bearing rock by 
repeated washing and shaking about in the batea (a curious wooden dish about two feet 
in diameter and having a sort of hollow at the bottom), after which it is an easy task for the 
miner to pick out thé remaining diamonds, their lustre making them easily recognizable. The 
second method, practised in the beds of larger streams, is more expensive and uncertain 
than the first, though, when successful, it sometimes brings a richer reward for the labor 
expended. By this method, the miner first chooses a spot where the bed_ of the river is 
supposed to contain diamonds, and not to have been worked before. A dam is built a 
short distance above this place with a sluice around it, through which the waters are turned, 
leaving dry the former bed of the river. Then the work of mining is begun, the first task 
being to clear away the sand that covers the bed rock, sometimes to a depth of thirty or 


SCENE NEAR MORRO VELHO, IN THE GOLD MINING DISTRICT OF MINAS GERAES. 


304 | THE NEW BRAZIL 


PICTURESQUE CASCADE IN THE VICINITY OF 
BELLO HORIZONTE. 


forty feet. This part of the work has to be 
done during the dry season, as the first 
heavy rains of September wash away the 
dam and fill up the excavation. When 
bed rock is finally reached, the diamond- 
bearing gravel is carried out and placed in 
piles to be washed during the wet season, 
labor in the river bed being then impossi- 
ble. If the ground prove to be virgin, the 
miner may reap a precious harvest of dia- 
monds, but if, as sometimes happens, it 
turns out to have been washed before, all 
his labor is lost. The third system of dia- 
mond mining is employed in treating de- 
posits of gravel found on the lower slopes 
and along the sides of valleys. Some of 
these deposits, or grupiaras, as they are 
called, have proved very rich, especially in 
the Itacolomy district and other valleys of 
eastern Minas Geraes. A grupiara of “Lava- 
pés,” covering less than one thousand square 
feet, yielded one hundred thousand carats 
in one season. The fourth process is that 
used in taking out diamonds from beds of 
rock high up in the serra, popularly called 
chapada mining. It consists of first collect- 
ing rainwater in pools on the top of the 
plateau and then conducting a stream to 
the site of the deposit, where great gullies are 
cut so that the water may be given the im- 
petus necessary to loosen and carry along 
the diamond-bearing gravel, which is finally 
treated in the same way as that found in 
the river beds. 

Within recent years modern scientific 
methods have been applied to diamond 


mining in Brazil with eminently satisfactory results. The Companhia da Boa Vista, com- 
posed of Brazilian, French, and Belgian capitalists, was the first to instal expensive modern 
appliances, for the equipment of one of the most important diamond mining establishments 
in the world. The works are located a few miles from Diamantina in the Jequitinhonha 


THE MINES OF MINAS GERAES 305 


valley. The Agua Suja Mining Company, Limited, has also introduced modern methods in 
the development of its mines, which are situated near Bagagem, or, as the town is now 
called in honor of the great dia- 
mond discovery made there half 
a century ago, Estrella do Sul. 
Other companies have followed 
these, and the exploration of 
the diamond region is carried 
on more systematically and 
successfully than ever before. 
The Brazilian Diamond and 
Exploration Company, Limited, 
an English enterprise, the Bra- 
zilian Diamond, Gold, and De- 
veloping Company, organized 
by North American capitalists, 
and the Victor Nothman Com- ARASSUAHY, MINING DISTRICT FOR AMETHYSTS, AQUAMARINES, ETC. 
pany, are among the principal 

corporations engaged in diamond mining in the State. The output of diamonds is difficult 
to calculate, on account of the facility with which the precious stones are smuggled out of 
the country to avoid the payment of duties; the annual export, on which duties are paid, 
averages about ten thousand carats. 

Formerly all Brazilian diamonds were exported uncut, but within the past few years 
lapidaries have established themselves in the chief diamond producing centres. In Diaman- 
tina there are nineteen lapidaries, employing one hundred and fifty workmen and cutting 
four hundred and sixty carats of diamonds per month. In Serro and Jequitahy, and at 
Terra Branca, where the black diamond is found, local lapidaries cut most of the stones. 
Carbonates, stones used for diamond drills, are found in the diamond mining region. 
Closely allied to the diamond industry is the mining for other precious stones, such as 
amethysts, tourmalines (known as “Brazilian emeralds”), topazes, aquamarines, garnets, 
chrysolites, etc., which the miners designate pedras coradas, “colored stones.” The 
development of this branch of mining is quite recent, dating only from about five years ago, 
when some German prospectors appeared in the town of Arassuahy, and offered to pay 
seven hundred dollars per kilogram for pedras coradas ofa certain size and color. The 
miners were delighted to have an opportunity to make money so easily out of stones that 
had hitherto been looked upon as of no value, and the collection of these gems became a 
regular business. In Arassuahy, Pecanha, Minas Novas, Salinas, Grao Mogol, Tremedal, and 
throughout the entire mining region, are found beautiful specimens of these stones, which 
are constantly increasing in value in the foreign market. Black tourmalines are quite 
common in some sections, and the green, blue, and red varieties are found in abundance in 


306 THE NEW BRAZIL 


Arassuahy, Pecanha, and Salinas. The chrysolites of Arassuahy are very beautiful stones 
and find a ready market. Topazes of the ordinary yellow hue, as well as the rarer rose- 
tinted specimen, are chiefly found in the district of Ouro Preto, which is so rich in various 
kinds of mineral production. 

Ouro Preto is the centre of the manganese industry in Brazil. Though rich deposits 
exist in other States they have not yet been developed to the same extent as in 
Minas Geraes, which exports the richest quality of manganese in the world, the ore yielding 
from fifty to fifty-five per cent of metallic manganese. . The first shipment of manganese from 
Brazil was made only twelve years ago, when six thousand seven hundred and sixty-five 
tons were exported from Minas Geraes. The output has increased since that time to 
two hundred and fifty thousand tons annually. This valuable product exists in abundance 
in the district lying between Ouro Preto and Lafayette, on the Central railway, its locality 
being easily distinguished by the leaden color and glistening appearance of the soil. The 
Stations of Miguel Burnier and Lafayette, on the Central railway, are the chief shipping points 
for the industry, the cargo being carried by this line down to the seaport of Rio de Janeiro, 
for final export. The manganese deposits of the Burnier district are found in the metamor- 
phic rocks, and are associated with iron ores and limestones; while the manganese of the 
Queluz mines, in the Lafayette region, appears associated with eruptive rocks containing 
spersatine, rhodonite, or manganese silicates, and is characterized by the complete absence 
of iron ore or limestones. The former are worked by underground operations while 
the latter is mined on the surface. The Usina Wigg is the principal establishment of the 


MINAS NOVAS, IN THE HEART OF A RICH MINING DISTRICT, MINAS GERAES. 


Burnier district and the Morro da Mina is the most important manganese property of 
Lafayette, and both are supported by Brazilian capital. The value of the manganese 
exported annually from Minas Geraes amounts to about two million dollars gold. 


Tae eVvINES@Or MINAS POLRALES 307 


Iron is found in every part of Minas Geraes, and is abundant in the region of the moun- 
tains that surround Bello Horizonte, in Morro Velho, Itabira, and Morro do Pilar, which is a 
mountain of iron, and throughout the Serra do Espinago from Barbacena to Grado Mogol. For 


MINAS NOVAS, LOOKING TOWARD THE CHAPEL DE GRACA, MINAS GERAES. 


lack of mineral fuel, the iron industry has not been exploited, but when electricity can be em- 
ployed in the manufacture of this metal, no country will offer better advantages for its devel- 
opment, not only because of the abundance and good quality of the ores, but because the 
State has unlimited sources of water power in its countless mountain streams and cascades. 

A visit to the School of Mines of Ouro Preto affords the best opportunity for judging of the 
wonderful variety of the minerals which are found in the State of Minas Geraes. This school, 
which ranks among the best in the world, was organized by a decree of President Floriano 
Peixoto, September 18, 1903. It is devoted to the free instruction of students who, having the 
necessary general education, purpose to pursue the career of mining and mining engineering. 
The school is established in the old colonial governors’ palace built early in the eighteenth 
century. The library and museum contain rare collections, some specimens of the amethyst, 
topaz, and diamond deposits in the State being especially interesting and valuable. With the 
new discoveries that are constantly being made the possessions of the school are rapidly 
increasing, and its cabinets contain specimens of every product of the mineral kingdom. 
The director of the school is Dr. Joaquim Candido da Costa Sena, a scholar of high reputa- 
tion, who is an accepted authority on mining matters of Brazil. Dr. Alcides Medrado, the 
editor of the Brazilian Engineering and Mining Review, has charge of the library of the school, 
to which he has contributed a number of valuable works on mineralogy. 

The existence of platinum has been discovered recently in Minas Geraes, in the Serro 
district, in alluvial deposits at Itabira do Campo, in the neighborhood of Ouro Preto, and in 


308 THE NEY EBRAZIE 


the river Abaeté, a famous diamond-bearing stream of western Minas. The varieties of 
granite and marble of all colors and grains which are found in Minas Geraes, are remark- 
ably numerous. Agates, onyx, and rock crystal of the first water are found in the greatest 
abundance and are largely used in architecture in the various cities of the State. Rich 
deposits of mica, graphite, cinnabar and asbestos await development. In the mining towns 
of Pecanha, Diamantina, Minas Novas, Arassuahy, Salinas, and elsewhere, a newly aroused 
spirit of enterprise is manifested under the encouragement given by the liberal policy of the 
present government. 

A further decided impetus has been given to the mining industry of Brazil by the recent 
Federal legislation favoring its development. The government has removed the heavy 
import duties on machinery, implements, and other accessories used in mining works, 
placing, instead, a tax of five per cent ad valorem on these imports. In addition, the State 
of Minas Geraes has reduced the export tax on gold and promulgated a law to define more 
clearly the regulations affecting prospecting and mining concessions in connection with land 
under State control. In regard to the acquirement of mining property, the law is liberal, 
and restrictions are few and reasonable. The owner of land has the first right to the 
mineral, but if he fails to exercise his privilege others may explore after giving notice. The 
discoverer of the mineral is entitled to four lots of fifty metres square, with ground neces- 
sary for working. Claims are transferable, but no single person or company may own 
more than a hundred contiguous lots. But, in order to accomplish the best results in 
the development of Brazilian mines, the investment of much capital is necessary, and the 
establishment of enterprises working upon a scientific and systematic basis. Under such 
conditions, it is not difficult to picture a future rivalling in prosperity the mineral regions of 
Australia and Kimberley. 


COLLEGE OF OUR LADY OF SORROWS, DIAMANTINA. 


UNIVERSITY OF LinoIs 


‘VNVUVd YAAIN FHL dO Adis NVITIZVUG AHL WOUd GAMGIA ‘NSSVNDSI dO STIV4A FHL 


CHAPTER XVIII 
PARANA 


RIGINALLY forming a part of the capi- 
tania of Sao Paulo, the present State 
of Parana was peopled by sturdy pioneers of 
the same character as those who inhabited 
its sister provinces, SA€o Paulo and Minas 
Geraes. But, being more remote from the 
centre of activity in the early days, its gen- 
eral development received little attention 
until about half a century ago, when it be- 
came an independent province, in the year 
1853, under the administration of the illus- 
trious statesman, Conselheiro Zacarias de 
Vasconcellos, afterward a senator of the 
empire. From that date the progress of 
THE GYMNASIUM, CURYTIBA. the territory began to march more rapidly; 
steamers visited its ports, its rivers were 
explored, telegraph lines were built; the educational interests of the State received special 
attention, the press became an important social and political factor, public charities were insti- 
tuted, and social and political clubs were organized, the chief of which, the Club Coritibano, 
still wields an important influence in the politics of the State: With the general develop- 
ment came a realization of greater possibilities to be accomplished through the more 
complete opening up of the country, and new roads began to be built to the vast unsettled 
plains of the interior, colonization was encouraged, and the nucleus of the present thriving 
rural population was established. 

Possessing an area nearly equal to that of Great Britain, its territory covering eighty-six 
thousand square miles, the State of Parana has two distinct zones. The littoral, consisting 
of a strip of low land along the coast, is semi-tropical and produces all the fruits and 
311 


312 PHEONEVWODRAAZLE 


vegetables of a climate perennially warm; the plateaus, extending from the Coast Range, or 
Serra do Mar, to the river Parana on the western boundary, have the climate and soil of the 


RUA QUINZE DE NOVEMBRO, CURYTIBA. 


temperate zone and yield the products usually harvested in such latitudes. But though the 
Serra do Mar is the dividing line between the low hot region of the coast and the tablelands 
of the interior, it constitutes only one of many mountain chains which separate the State 
into different sections, varying in altitude from five hundred to five thousand feet. The 
plateau which stretches westward from the Serra do Mar to the Serrinha, or “little Serra,” 
an extension of the Paranapiacaba range from Sao Paulo, is the most thickly populated 
section of the interior, and is in a flourishing state of cultivation; the State capital, Curytiba, 
and the farming communities of Campo Largo and Lapa are situated on this tableland. 
From the Serrinha westward to the Serra da Esperanga, and stretching far northward, lies a 
vast territory of forest and plain known as the “Campo Geraes,” which is rich in agricul- 
tural and mineral resources and offers a good prospect to the investor and the colonist. 
Ponta Grossa, Palmeira, and Castro are situated in the southern part of this region, which 
promises to be the great distributing point for the whole interior of the State, when the 
system of railways now under construction is completed. Beyond the Serra da Esperanga 
extends the plateau of Guarapava, famous for its cattle ranges, while along the western 
border of the State are innumerable beautiful valleys, watered by the tributaries of the 


PARANA 313 


Parana, the Ivahy, or Rio dos Patos, the Piquiry, Iguassu, and others, and awaiting only the 
advent of an enterprising immigration to yield vast fortunes in the products of their forests 
of hardwood, medicinal plants, and abundant fruits. With the Parana River marking its 
western, the Paranapanema its northern, and the Iguassu its southern boundary line, the 
entire State is watered by the great river and its tributaries. The Iguassu marks the limit 
between Parana and Santa Catharina at the south, pending the settlement of a boundary 
question. There are no rivers of importance flowing into the Atlantic, which forms the 
eastern boundary, along with part of the State of Sd4o Paulo. The scenery along the Parana 
and its tributaries is magnificent, some of the waterfalls, such as the Salto das Sete Quedas, 
Salto do Osorio, and Salto do Rio dos Patos, which mark the descent of the Parana, the 
Iuassu, and the Ivahy, respectively, being unsurpassed in picturesque grandeur; the channel 
of the Itararé, a branch of the Paranapanema, is subterranean at several intervals along its 
course. All the rivers are navigable for a considerable distance, facilitating transportation in 
the districts which are not traversed by railway lines. 

The section of the State which lies along the seashore is, generally, flat and marshy, 
and the climate less agreeable than in the interior, the temperature varying from ten degrees 


THE GOVERNMENT PALACE, CURYTIBA. 


to thirty-five degrees centigrade; on the plateaus and in the mountainous regions of the 
State the climate is salubrious, and the temperature ranges from four degrees to thirty 


314 ) THE NEW BRAZIL 


degrees centigrade, with a mean 
annual register of Seventeen 
degrees. The varying altitude 
of the tablelands affords a 
variety of conditions of soil 
and climate suitable to the de- 
velopment of all kinds of agri- 
cultural crops. From the prolific 
rice fields of the coast country 
to the vast cattle plains of the 
interior, the industries of the 
State include the cultivation of 
most of the products of tropical 
and. temperate zones. 
PROVIDENCE COLLEGE, CURYTIBA. It is of paramount impor- 
tance that this wonderful State, 
which possesses the area and the resources sufficient for the maintenance of a population 
of many millions, should attract to its shores an increasing tide of immigration, in order 
that a greater number of agricultural communities may be established throughout its 
vast territory to cultivate the fertile soil and harvest the abundant wealth of its pastures 
and forests. The degree of progress and prosperity of the entire State depends only on 
the increase of population, which at present does not exceed five hundred thousand, 
chiefly settled in the eastern section. Through the enterprise of the State government, 
a number of foreign colonies were established some years ago on the plateau, in the 
valley of the Iguassu, and near the coast. They have prospered greatly and their 
scattered settlements have grown into flourishing towns. They are principally populated 
by Poles, Italians, and Germans. The Poles are the most numerous, about fifty thou- 
sand thrifty farmers of this nationality having established themselves in the communi- 
ties of Sdo Matheus and Rio Claro, in the Iguassu valley; at Thomaz Coelho, Lamenha Lins, 
and Abranches, near Curytiba; at Lucena and Antonio Olintho, near the Rio Negro, and at 
Prudentopolis on the Guarapuava road. The last-named is a town of considerable impor- 
tance, the centre of a rich agricultural community. The Italian colonies represent a popula- 
tion of thirty thousand or more, the principal settlement being at Colombo, about ten miles 
from Curytiba. There are not more than fifteen thousand Germans in the State, of whom 
the greater number are engaged in mercantile business. The English colony, too, is small, 
though it has grown considerably since the inauguration of improved railway facilities and 
the consequently promising outlook for great industrial and commercial growth. 
In travelling through the State one is constantly impressed by the opportunities offered 
to enterprising and active farmers in the natural resources, fruitful soil, and splendid climate 
of this favored region. From Paranagua, the seaport through which the main traffic of 


Parana is conducted, and at 
which passengers are landed 
upon their arrival in the State, 
a railway train leaves daily for 
the interior. The journey takes 
one across a stretch of country 
wonderfully varied in climate 
and picturesque charm, and 
immensely rich in productive- 
ness. Paranagua itself is a 
flourishing town, with a popu- 
lation of about ten thousand, 
situated on one of the largest 


PARANA 315 


PRACA GENERAL OSORIO, CURYTIBA. 


harbors of the Brazilian coast. The streets of the town are well-paved and clean; its public 
buildings are of solid structure and many of them are modern edifices; there are six pracas, 
or parks, of which the principal one, Praca Fernando Amaro, is beautifully ornamented with 
Shade trees, shrubs, and flower beds; and the whole aspect of the place indicates that the 
municipality is well-governed and in happy circumstances. The port is visited regularly 


abists 


HOUSE OF CONGRESS, CURYTIBA. 


316 THE NEW BRAZIL 


twice a week by steamers of the Lloyd-Brazileiro and the Costeiro lines, and more than a 
hundred steamers on an average call there annually on trips between Rio and Buenos Aires. 
Paranagua is the chief centre of trade for the coast district, which sends to this port the 
harvests from its rice and cotton fields, its fruit farms and vegetable gardens. Next in 
importance to Paranagua as a shipping port is the picturesque little city of Antonina, which 
is also situated on the bay of Paranagua, a magnificent harbor of thirty miles in extent. 
Although of comparatively recent growth, Antonina is rapidly becoming noted for its indus- 
trial enterprise and commercial activity. Its chief exports are bananas, oranges, Sugar cane, 


A PUBLIC GARDEN IN CURYTIBA. 


rice, and yerba maté, the last-named being brought down from higher altitudes and much 
of it prepared for market in the maté mills of this port. Iron mines of immense value and 
of easy access exist in the neighborhood, which is rich in various mineral products, such 
as manganese, mica, and other ores. 

The journey from Paranagua and Antonina to Curytiba is made by train, over the 
Parana railway, a masterpiece of engineering, which surmounts the range without the aid 
of cogs or cables, by means of trestles, tunnels, bridges and curves. There are seventeen 
tunnels in all piercing the sides of the Serra do Mar along this route. The road was built by 
a Belgian company and was opened to traffic in 1883. Not only does a trip over this line 


PARANA 317 


afford a view of unparalleled magnificence in the richness and variety of natural scenery 
which is unfolded to the sight at every turn, but the evidence of industrial progress and 
development may be seen in the flourishing aspect of the various towns along the route. 
Saw mills, factories, breweries, and similar enterprises manifest the business activity and 
demonstrate the existence of general prosperity. After four hours’ journey from Paranagua 
the traveller arrives at Curytiba, the capital of Parana, a city of fifty thousand inhabitants, 
situated on the plateau, sixty miles from the coast, and at an elevation of three thousand 
feet above sea level. It is one of the largest cities of southern Brazil and its progress 
within the past ten years has been remarkable. It is now a thoroughly modern capital, 
with spacious and well paved streets, lighted with electricity and traversed in all directions 


THE CATHEDRAL, CURYTIBA. 


by street cars; handsome public buildings, among which are the governor’s palace, the 
palace of congress, the municipal building, the hospital, the penitentiary, the post office and a 
number of fine school buildings, are evidences of economic progress. Education receives 
adequate attention, the State supporting more than four hundred schools. Among these, 
the primary schools occupy an important place, as it is the constant aim of the government 
to increase the facilities by which all-classes may enjoy the privilege of free instruction. In 
Curytiba the profession of teaching is learned in the Escola Normal. Special instruction is 
given in a kindergarten, a school of fine arts, a school of crafts and industries, called the 
Escola Carvalho, and a technical school, known as the Gymnasio Paranaense. The Escola 
Americana is a very successful boarding and day school, conducted by two North Americans, 
Miss Dascomb and Miss Kuhl, who are greatly esteemed in their adopted country. In the 


318 THE NEW BRAZIL 


interest of general education the government authorities have established an excellent public 
library and a museum at Curytiba. The needs of the poor and unfortunate have not been 
neglected, the hospital, Santa Casa da Miseri- 
cordia, responding to the demands of the 
suffering, and the insane asylum affording a 
shelter for the mentally afflicted. For recrea- 
tion, the city offers many attractions in the 
social clubs, the theatres, and several beauti- 
ful pracas for the purposes of a promenade, of 
which the Jardim Botanico is the most popu- 
lar, as it is not only a charming passeio, but a 
place affording much interesting instruction. 

Together with its surrounding colonias, 
Curytiba extends over a considerable area, 
within which almost every industry of a 
temperate zone is developed. Barley, oats, 
wheat, rye, Indian corn, and potatoes are 
cultivated, and within the past few years a 
new industry, that of wine growing, has 
been undertaken with very: satisfactory re- 
sults. In the Poplade, Moura, and Amaral 
: eS vineyards, more than fifty thousand vines 

SDUCh Ce aan ee have been planted, and a very good quality 

of wine is produced, which is greatly in 

demand for the market of the northern States. The annual shipment amounts to about ten 

thousand barrels, and the outlook is favorable for an extensive commerce in Parana wines. 

On the tablelands, especially in the districts of Lapa, Palmeira, Ponta Grossa, and westward 

to Guarapava, extensive ranges afford pasture for cattle and sheep, which thrive wonderfully 
in this favorable climate. 

In addition to the wealth which has been produced in the State through the develop- 
ment of agriculture and cattle raising, rich revenues have resulted from the exploitation of 
the unlimited treasures of its forests and mines, though as yet the value and extent of these 
resources have never been properly investigated. Large fortunes have been made in the 
yerba maté forests, which flourish throughout the State wherever the altitude reaches two 
thousand feet, being especially abundant along the course of the Iguassu River and its 
tributaries. The /lex paraguayensis, as the yerba maté tree is known to science, has grown 
so rapidly in importance of recent years, since the introduction of its beverage product into 
European and North American homes, that the latter forms one of the chief articles of export 
in Parana, and more than twenty large mills for preparing the maté for market have been 
established in various cities of the State. Next in importance to the yerba maté as an 


~ 


PARANA 319 


article of export from the Paranda forests are the splendid hardwoods which they yield in 
almost endless variety, though the trade in this product has not yet been developed to meet 
the full demand, owing 
to the difficulties of trans- 
portation. The Parana 
pine, or Araucaria bra- 
siliensts, is one of the 
prominent features of 
the landscape in this 
State, where it some- 
times grows to a height 
of one hundred and 
twenty-five feet, with a 
diameter of six feet; it is 
exported to all the States 
of Brazil for building pur- 
poses, as Well as for vari- 
ous other uses to which 
pine isespecially adapted; 
the fruit is very nutri- 
tious; the resin contains turpentine, pitch, and a gum similar to gum arabic, which give it great 
therapeutic value, and the nuts are extensively used in the manufacture of buttons. It is 
estimated that there are eighty 
million pine trees in the State. 
In addition to the pine, the 
cedar and the imbuia are ex- 
ported in large quantities; the 
latter being in great demand 
because of the beautiful grain 
and the splendid polish it will 
take. It is calculated that the 
annual export of Parana woods 
is about one hundred thousand 
cubic metres. The abundance 
of wood easily obtainable has 
contributed toward the success 
THE POST OFFICE, CURYTIBA. of many important enterprises, 

notably that of the Curytiba 

match factory, which is one of the largest manufacturing industries in southern Brazil. The 
extent of Parana’s mineral resources is as yet unknown, though the investigations already 


VIEW ALONG THE PARANA RAILWAY BETWEEN PARANAGUA AND CURYTIBA. 


320 THE NEW BRAZIL 


made show that there is enormous wealth hidden in her mountains and streams. Gold is 
found in some districts of the southeastern part of the State, between Curytiba and the 
southern border, as well as in the upper streams of the Tibagy; in the Tibagy and Jordao 
Rivers diamonds have been discovered. Alum is found in Ponta Grossa, mercury in 
Palmeira, and in many sections are marble, granite, and slate. At Imbituba, between Ponta 
Grossa and Guarapava, a valuable coal mine was found recently; and every exploring party 


THE AMERICAN CHURCH, CURYTIBA. 


that goes into the interior returns with some of the many ores found in the serras of that 
rich and extensive region. 

Of prime importance in the industrial and commercial development of Parana, as of 
every other State of Brazil, is the extension of the railway systems. In Parana the railroads 
are comprised under two lines: the Parana railway, of which the main line connects the 
Seaport of Paranagua with the capital, Curytiba, extends west to Ponta Grossa, one hundred 
and eighty miles, the branches connecting Antonina with Morretes, a distance of ten miles, 
Serrinha with Rio Negro, of fifty miles, and.Restinga with Port Amazones, of six miles; and 
the Sado Paulo and Rio Grande railroad which extends across the State from northeast to 
southwest, leaving Jaguariahyva, near the southern border of Sao Paulo and reaching the 


PARANA 321 


border of Santa Catharina at Porto da Unido on the Iguassu River, covering a distance of two 
hundred and fifty-two miles. This road is now in exploitation, traversing a territory of varied 
aspect. The headquarters of 
the railway company are at 
Ponta Grossa, the second city 
inthe State in population. From 
this point north to Jaguaria- 
hyva, a distance of ninety-three 
miles, the line passes through 
the town of Castro, and, with 
an ascent of about a thousand 
feel; crosses) a spur of the 
Paranapiacaba_ range, sloping 
gradually to the great tableland 
from which the town takes its 
name. Most of the land along 
this route is particularly well 
adapted to pasturage, and there is ample provision for vast herds of cattle on the. rolling 
plains and sloping hillsides. At present only a few ranches are seen, the chief enterprises of 
this kind being in the neighborhood of Castro, which is situated on the river Iapo, a branch 
of the Tibagy. From Ponta Grossa south to Porto da Unido, a distance of one hundred and 
fifty-nine miles, the railroad crosses a country covered with immense forests of pine trees, 
Separated at intervals by extensive clearings which show the result of industrious labor on 
the part of the colonists settled in this region. Rio Claro, with a population of ten thousand, 
is the commercial centre of a community of 
prosperous Polish farmers, who cultivate the 
fertile soil with excellent results, harvesting 
barley, rye, beans, potatoes, and other prod- 
ucts. The freight carried by this road is 
principally yerba maté, hardwoods, and farm 
produce. 
Comprised in the great Sao Paulo and 
Rio Grande system, the railroad from Jagua- 
riahyva to Porto da Unido is part of a trunk 
line which is now under construction at 
; : various points for the purpose of establish- 
STREET SCENE IN PARANAGUA. ing complete railway transportation from 
the Federal capital southward through the 
States of Sado Paulo, Parana, Santa Catharina, and Rio Grande do Sul, to the limits of the 
republic. From Jaguariahyva north to Itararé, a distance of sixty miles, the line is being 


THE VINEYARD OF DR. MOURA, NEAR CURYTIBA. 


322 THE NEW BRAZIL 


extended to establish connection with the Sorocabana railway of Sao Paulo. In addition to 
the main line which is on the point of completion from the northern to the southern border 
of Parana, the Sao Paulo and Rio Grande Railway Company have now under construction 
in this State, or have made surveys and plans for their construction, more than a thousand 
miles of railways. From Jaguariahyva a branch line will run north to Salto Grande on the 
Paranapanema River, touching the Sao Paulo frontier; a distance of one hundred and fifty 
miles, all of which is surveyed, and about half of it is under construction. A line is also 
being built from Parana to the port of Sao Francisco in the State of Santa Catharina, about 
seven hundred miles (one thousand two hundred kilometres) in length, one hundred miles 
of which is completed, and the remainder is in course of construction. This line will enter 
the State of Parana near Rio Claro, and, crossing the main line, will pass through Guara- 
pava to its western terminus at the Falls of Iguassu, which are destined one day to be the 
great scenic attraction of South 
America, as Niagara Falls have 
been that of North America for 
a century or more. Both States 
will reap the vast benefits to 
accrue from such an enterprise, 
which will serve as a connect- 
ing link in their social, indus- 
trial, and commercial progress. 
When all the lines now being 
built, or which are projected, 
are put in operation, Parana 
will have such a network of 
THE MUNICIPAL CHAMBER, PARANAGUA. railways as will facilitate trans- 

portation in every part of the 

State. The Sado Paulo and Rio Grande Railway Company is directed by men of the greatest 
skill in railroad enterprise. Among its directors is Sir William C. Van Horne, of Montreal, 
Canada, the president of one of the greatest triumphs in ‘modern railroad science, the 
Canadian Pacific system. The construction is in charge of able managers under the presidency 
of Mr. Percival Farquhar, and the company’s offices and shops at Ponta Grossa present an 
aspect of bustling activity. The wood of the country, especially the imbuia, is well adapted 
for the construction of cars, samples of which have been made in the Ponta Grossa car shops. 
The history of industrial development in every country of the New World has been 
intimately related to the increase of its facilities for transportation, and one of the greatest 
influences in attracting immigration to the western States of the United States during the 
past fifty years has been the possibilities for rapid and secure transportation of the farmers’ 
products to the best markets, as well as the greater social advantages afforded by facilities 
for communication. By the construction of a complete railway system, Parana will increase 


PARANA 323 


many times the present value 
of its vast territory. The rail- 
ways now in operation have 
contributed greatly toward the 
extension of commerce, and 
many enterprises which could 
not have been successfully es- 
tablished without the necessary 
railway facilities for distributing 
their products have grown up 
within recent years and are 
rapidly increasing in impor- ss oes 
tance and wealth. A prosper- RUA GENERAL CARNEIRO, PARANAGUA. 
ous trade exists with Argentina 
and Chile in barbecua, or meat dried over the fire by a process which protects it from any 
taste of smoke. Yerba maté, as will be seen from the next chapter, is the chief source of 
revenue to the State, though other industries are increasing in number annually. Parana ranks 
eighth among the twenty-two States of Brazil in the value of its export trade, which amounts 
to ten million milreis, gold, annually. The financial condition of the State has never been 
more prosperous than now, and the government is in the hands of statesmen of ability and 
patriotism, who devote every effort toward its aggrandizement. The president, Dr. Joao Can- 
dido Ferreira, had valuable experience in government affairs before his election to the highest 
office of the State, having occupied several important posts under previous administrations. 
He was vice-president 
in the government. of 
the late President Vicente 
Machado, and filled the 
a Oa office of chief executive 
*e til na ne ae | during the visit of the 
antl) i wii th if NAW MN os HS ease president to Europe in a 
. | 2 Se gee vain effort to regain his 
health. Upon the death 
of that distinguished 
statesman, the unani- 
mous voice of the people 
welcomed Dr. Candido 
Ferreira as his successor. 
Dr. Vicente Machado 
was a native Paranaense, 


RAILROAD BRIDGE OF CASTRO, STATE OF PARANA. and a graduate of the 


324 THE NEW BRAZIL 


Sao Paulo Law School. He occupied several important official positions under the empire, 
and was elected first president of Parana under the republic; he did good service for the 
Federal government during the naval revolution, and, after 1895, as a Senator of the republic, 
he continued to take an active interest in the affairs of his State. Among other leaders in 
the political, commercial, and educational advancement of Parana, one of the best known, 
especially through his important scientific articles on the subject of yerba mate, is Dr. Victor 
Ferreira do Amaral, a physician of high standing and the president of the State Society of Agri- 
culture, which in 1goo held an exposition in Curytiba that attracted many thousands of visitors. 

In accordance with the constitution of Parana, the president of the State is elected every 
four years. The legislative power is delegated to the State congress, which is composed 
of thirty deputies, elected for two years. The judicial power is exercised by a superior 
tribunal of justice, district judges, and minor courts of law. The State is divided into thirty- 
nine municipalities, each of which has its municipal chamber and a prefect elected for four 
years. It also constitutes a diocese, the bishop of which is the Very Reverend Dom Duarte 
Leopoldo, who resides in Curytiba, where the cathedral, a beautiful new edifice, occupies a 
prominent site overlooking the Praga Tiradentes. 

The picturesque scenery and salubrious climate of the State of Parana are attractions 
excelled only by the more substantial advantages of a fertile soil and abundant natural wealth. 
Tourists who now crowd the various mountain resorts of Europe will some day discover 
that in the serras of Parana are more magnificent vistas, richer color effects in foliage and 
blossoms, more wonderful contrasts in the light and shade that envelop alternately the sunny 
crests of the mountains and their unfathomable gorges, than in many of the Old World’s 
most famous highlands. There is much to encourage immigration in the statement of Saint- 
Hilaire respecting Parana: “Of all the States of Brazil, none offers greater advantages to the 
European farmers; they find here a temperate climate, pure air, the fruits of their country, a 
land in which they can raise all the produce that may be grown in their own country.” 


PONTA GROSSA, PARANA 


THE ‘LIBRARY 
OF THE 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 


WATERFALL NEAR CURYTIBA, PARANA. 


CHAPTER AIX 


THE YERBA MATE OF PARANA 


NV ee the disciples of Igna- 

tius Loyola entered upon 
their labors as missionaries among 
the Indians of Brazil, in the mid- 
dle of the sixteenth century, they 
were surprised to find that the 
Guarany tribes were able to 
withstand all kinds of hardships 
and to go without solid food for 
days at a time, by chewing the 
leaves of a native shrub which 
they called cad. The holy fathers 
experimented with the herb, and found it so good that they established plantations and 
taught the Indians to cultivate it, giving it the name of yerba maté. In the early days 
of the industry, every mission had its yerbale under cultivation, the Jesuits directing the 
labors of the Indians, who were carefully drilled in their work, dividing attention between 
the cad mini, or best quality, and the cad nana, of inferior worth. Later, immense maté 
forests, or verbales, were discovered in all the southern States of Brazil, the most valuable 
being those of Parana, which are to-day the great sources of the yerba maté supply for 
the markets of the world, though the territory within which the plant will grow may be 
said to extend from Minas Geraes to Rio Grande do Sul and from the Paraguay River to 
the Atlantic Ocean. 

Travellers and explorers in South American countries long ago learned the good 
qualities of yerba maté as a refreshing and invigorating beverage. Darwin thoroughly 
appreciated its value, and in letters to his friends, as well as in the pages of his 
Journal of Researches, written after his South American journey, he lauds it as an “ideal 
drink.” The yerba maté is not an herb, but a shrub, even a tree, about the size of an 
327 


“A RIVER BOAT LOADED WITH YERBA MATE. 


328 THE NEW BRAZIL 


orange tree, though its boughs are more slender. It sometimes grows to the height of 
twenty-five feet, the trunk measuring over three feet in circumference. The principal 


wh INDIANS CARRYING YERBA MATE TO THE MILL. 


yerbales are situated in the remote country districts, far from towns, and the yerbateiros, 
or maté-gatherers, are obliged to make a long trip across the country before reaching 
their destination. The time for collecting maté usually begins in December, and continues 
until August. The yerbateiros set out with their provisions, tools, and cattle, prepared to 
establish a camp for the season in the maté forest. The picking, drying, and packing 
were previously performed on the grounds, but since the perfection of machinery suitable 
for the process of drying and packing, this part of the work has been done in large 
central mills to which the product of an entire district is taken. Under the old system, 
the yerbateiros usually travelled in companies of twenty or thirty, forming quite a little 
settlement wherever they erected their huts. Their first work consisted in preparing an 
open space about six feet square, after which they beat the ground hard and smooth with 
mallets. Then they cut the maté and placed it in the clearing, building a fire around it to 
give it a preliminary roasting, after which it was arranged on a framework of poles with a 
fire underneath for a second roasting, this process requiring great care, as the aroma of 
the maté depended upon it; the required amount of heat was only learned by long 
experience. After two or three days of drying, the leaves were reduced to coarse powder, 
and packed in serons, or bags of raw hide, which shrank when exposed to the sun, thus 
completing the preparation of the maté for shipment. The preliminary roasting is still 
done on some of the yerbales in large copper pans over a slow fire, after which the 


THE YERBA MATE OF PARANA 329 


maté is put in bags and stored away until it is shipped to the harbor of export in 
wagons drawn by long trains of mules or in the river boats that carry this freight 
in great quantities. 

More than twenty million people in South America drink maté daily, and find it a more 
desirable beverage than tea or coffee, having none of the deleterious effects of these drinks 
even when taken to excess, but, on the contrary, promoting digestion, soothing the nerves, 
and giving immediate activity to the brain. According to high scientific authority, it is the 
only beverage which leaves absolutely no bad after-effects upon those who drink it in large 
or small quantities. Its dynamic value is enormous; by its use the cowboys of the plains 
and soldiers in battle are enabled to endure the most terrible fatigue and even to live for 
days without solid food. During the Paraguayan war, it was an indispensable agent in 
preserving the lives of the fever-stricken armies, and many times it formed the sole means 
of sustenance during long and wearisome marches. The importance of this fact has been 
So impressed upon government officials in foreign countries that extensive experiments are 


YERBA MATE TREES. 


now being made with this drink in the armies of France and Germany, with satisfactory 
results, it is said, and it has been recommended to the United States government by some 


330 THE NEW BRAZIL 


of its officials in South America as a valuable drink for its soldiers in the hot climates of 
Cuba and the Philippines. As a safeguard against insomnia, it is highly spoken of, and in 
those countries where it is a con- 
stant beverage such affections as 
gout and indigestion are unknown. 

As a beverage, yerba mate is 
especially beneficial to those of 
sedentary habits and to brain- 
workers who find the use of coffee 
or tea harmful to the nervous sys- 
tem. In certain parts of South 
America, where mate is the only 
drink, the people present an ap- 
pearance of healthy activity, fresh- 
ness, and good physical condition 
which cannot be attributed solely 
to the influence of climate or cir- 
cumstances, but seem rather to 
be the result, ina great measure, of 
abstemious habits, fostered by an 
absolute freedom from the use of 
intoxicants—which are seldom in 
demand among maté-drinkers—or 
of tea or coffee, so harmful under 
some conditions, and the bene- 
fit resulting from the therapeutic 
qualities of the yerba maté, which 
they drink in unlimited quantities. 
Gauchos, guanaco hunters, miners, and soldiers are contented with rations that include 
nothing more than a piece of hard bread or a bit of dried beef, providing they are well sup- 
plied with maté. In every sphere of life and in every circle of society the South Americans 
enjoy this excellent beverage. In some homes it is the custom to take maté several times 
a day, sipping it from the cya through a bombilla. 

The cuya is a diminutive calabash, usually about the size of an orange, with a small 
opening, through which the maté is put in and hot water poured over it, often not larger 
than just sufficient to admit the bowl of the bombilla. Cuyas are of every shape and size, 
some richly ornamented and others of the most primitive manufacture. The bombillas, or, 
as the name signifies, “little pumps,” are utilized similarly to the “straws” through which 
North Americans sip their lemonade, though they are quite different in appearance, being 
usually made of metal, with a small perforated bulb or strainer at the end, in order that the 


THE CATARACT “ VISCONDE DE RIO-BRANCO,” STATE OF PARANA. 


THE YERBA MATE OF PARANA 331 


tea may be imbibed without any of the maté leaves being drawn into the mouth. There is 
wide latitude for the indulgence of individual taste in the selection of a cuya and bombilla, 
some of which are very handsome and elaborate, beautifully carved, and mounted in silver 
or gold. After every few sips, a fresh supply of hot water must be poured over the tea 
leaves, to which sugar and cream are added, if preferred. In most homes of the better 
class, a neat little servant stands ready to replenish the cuya as required. An old custom 
of the maté countries, which is symbolic of the most cordial hospitality, though not now so 
general as formerly, consists in passing the cuya around, so that every one present may 
partake of the beverage through the same bombilla, after the manner of the “pipe of peace.” 

Foreigners soon learn to enjoy the maté, sometimes following the native custom of 
taking it from the cuya, but quite as often using a cup and saucer in “five-o’clock” style. 


MAMMOTH ROCKS AT VILLA VELHA, PARANA. 


Although it is an acquired taste to some extent, there are few who do not become mateé- 
drinkers after a few trials of the beverage, and the most enthusiastic native is not louder in 
praise of its wonderful qualities than the newly-won advocate from across the seas. The 


332 THE NEW BRAZIL 


amount of maté used in preparing the drink varies according to individual taste. An ounce 
of the yerba to a quart of water is generally the proportion used, the tea being strained and 
ready for serving 
after steeping ten 
or fifteen minutes. 
It may be sweet- 
ened to taste and 
a little milk or 
rum added, if pre- 
ferred. Iron uten- 
sils should be 
avoided, as they 
give a dark color 
to. the beverage. 
Sometimes the 
maté is put into 
a bag and hot 
water poured over 
it, thus obviating 
the necessity of 
straining when 
serving it in the 
cup and _ saucer 


TRANSPORTING YERBA MATE FOR SHIPMENT. style, though the 

majority of “con- 

firmed” maté-drinkers prefer the cuya and bombilla of South American custom on all 
occasions, and certainly there is the element of the picturesque in this quaint fashion. 
A chemist of world-wide reputation, 
who has had years of experience in ana- 
lyzing teas in London, says: ‘“Yerba-maté 
tea must be considered a most valuable 
beverage. It is especially beneficial to the 
stomach and nerves. It has great sustain- 
ing power, but does not irritate. Its effect 
is soothing and quieting, with no deleterious 
consequences of any kind. Maté may be 
freely drunk after it has stood forty-eight 
hours, without any unpleasant disturbances, 
even in strong decoction. It remains just as healthful as when freshly made.” Dr. Mante- 
gazza, the great Italian physician, says that maté is especially good for those who live under 


MATE BLOSSOMS. 


THE YERBA MATE OF PARANA 333 


severe mental strain, whose labors are chiefly intellectual. The exports of yerba maté from 
Parana last year amounted to fifty thousand tons, valued at a million pounds sterling. Some of 
the large maté companies 
own vast estates and have 
mate mills equipped with 
the best modern conven- 
' iences for treating the 
; maté when it comes from 

eee ema the yerbales, and for pre- 
paring it for shipment. 

The Tibagy factory, which was founded in 1869 by 
the Baron de Serro Azul, is one of the best equipped 
maté establishments of the State. It is provided with modern presses and other machinery, 
and has its own repairing shops, and is lighted entirely with electricity. The Santa Graga 
factory at Curytiba, and the maté mills of Villa Guimaraes at Paranagua ship large quantities 
of yerba maté to all parts of South America and an increasing supply annually to the 
markets of Europe and the United States. The process of treating the mateé leaves is quite 
simple. When the maté is taken to one of these mills, it is first triturated and separated 
from the stems and dust by means of mechanical crushers, sifters, and ventilators; when 
sufficiently pulverized, it is passed through troughs into a second grinder, the twigs being 
again sifted and broken, after which they are separated and classified, some being used as 
fuel, and the rest forming an indispensable part of the maté sent to consumers. Within 


THE PLANT THAT SUPPLIES HIS FAVORITE 
BEVERAGE. 


BRIDGE OVER THE IGUASSU RIVER. 


recent years its cultivation has received every attention, especially since the Paraguayan 
war, when the great demand for it resulted in the accumulation of several fortunes among 


334 THE NEW BRAZIL 


the yerba maté proprietors, the profits reaching a hundred per cent clear of all expenses in 
some cases, So great was the demand. 


THE RAILWAY STATION AT PONTA GROSSA, A SHIPPING POINT FOR YERBA MATE. 


Brazil distinguished herself during the nineteenth century among the commercial 
nations of the world by making her coffee an almost universal beverage, and it is not too 
much to predict that results as wonderful will be accomplished during the present century 
with her tea, the yerba mate, which is rapidly winning favor in the homes of North America 
and Europe, and may even find its way to the Orient, the home of its Chinese rival. 


THE PINES OF PARANA. 


THE ‘LIBRARY 
“OF THE 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 


7. 


‘VNIUVHLVO VINVS AO ALVLS 


JO WLIdVO AHL ‘SITOdONVINOTA 


CHAPTER XX 


SANTA CATHARINA 


MAIN STAIRWAY, GOVERNMENT PALACE, 
FLORIANOPOLIS. 


ANTA CATHARINA was one of the first 
points of discovery on the South Amer- 

ican coast, the navigator Juan Dias de Solis 
having visited it in 1515 and Sebastian Cabot 
in 1525, though it was not settled until 1650, 
when Francisco Dias Velho Monteiro and his 
four sons established themselves on the 
island which extends along the coast mid- 
way between the northern and the southern 
limits of the present State for a distance of 
about twenty-five miles. Monteiro gave to 
the island the name of Santa Catharina in 
honor of his daughter, and at once erected 
a chapel to Nossa Senhora do Desterro [Our 
Lady of Exile] upon the site of the present 
capital, Florianopolis. The mainland remained 
unsettled until about the end of the seven- 
teenth century, when the Paulistas founded 
an agricultural colony first known as Prageres, 


from the church of Nossa Senhora dos Prazeres [Our Lady of Joys] erected at this place, 
though afterward the name was changed to Villa dos Lages, by which it is known to-day 


as one of the thriving towns of the State. 


There was no extensive colonization of the 


State until the eighteenth century, when King Jodo V. sent out families from the Azores 


to settle the mainland and the island. 


In 1813, the present limits were established, and 


in 1824 the territory became a province of the empire, the first president being Joao Rodrigo 
de Carvalho. From this date, the settlement of the country progressed gradually, until, in 
1849, anew impetus was given to its growth by the establishment of the colony of Joinville 


337 


338 THE NEW BRAZIL 


in the northeastern part of the State, a few miles inland from the bay of Sao Francisco, 
which is one of the best harbors along the South American coast. The Duke de Joinville, 


THE GOVERNMENT PALACE, FLORIANOPOLIS. 


son of Louis Philippe, founded this colony principally with German settlers, on a tract of 
land which had been put aside for the purpose out of the marriage dot of his wife, Princess 
Donna Francisco, sister of the Emperor Dom Pedro II. Circumstances were favorable to its 
development at that time when there was a general exodus of Germans from the fatherland 
in consequence of political discontent, and within a few years after its inauguration it 
became one of the most prosperous towns to be found in southern Brazil; broad, shaded 
streets fronting pretty cottages and even more pretentious residences, and attractive gardens 
beautified with shrubs and flowers, gave to the town an appearance of prosperity in keeping 
with the advancement made, which was gratifying to both the founder and the colonists. 
Joinville now has a population of about thirty thousand inhabitants, nearly all Brazilian 
citizens, and it is the chief town of a rich agricultural district, as well as a manufacturing 
centre of importance. Hundreds of wagon loads of yerba maté pass through the city to 
the seaport of Sao Francisco for shipment; tobacco, wheat, rye, bariey, and dairy products 
are grown in this district; manufacturing enterprises of every kind have been established, 
numbering about two hundred, and including a sugar factory in the suburb of Pirabeiraba, a 
rice mill, five large establishments for the treatment of yerba maté, four cotton spinning 
mills, fifteen saw mills, and a number of foundries, breweries and other enterprises. 
The municipal authorities are wide awake to the importance of general education, and 
the town supports fifty schools with an average attendance of three thousand pupils. 


SN Aeod  ARINA 339 


Possessing the simple tastes and frugal habits that distinguish the German farmer in his 
own land, and which the German-Brazilian inherits from his colonist ancestors, these 
thrifty people have developed also the characteristics of their Brazilian parents, and are 
generous in hospitality, ready in enterprise, and optimistic in temperament. 

The salubrious climate and fertile soil of the State of Santa Catharina make it especially 
adapted to the purposes of colonization, and nowhere in Brazil have the foreign commun- 
ities enjoyed better opportunities for progress than here. About a year after the colony 
of Joinville was settled, Dr. Blumenau founded the German colony which still bears his 
name, and chose as a site for its location a tract of land in the most fertile region of the 
State, bordering on the river Itajahy, southwest of Joinville and northwest of Florianopolis, 
about equidistant between these two ports. Blumenau has developed rapidly; it now 
numbers about fifty thousand inhabitants, and has many important manufactories. Its 
chief port is Itajahy, a picturesque town of twenty thousand inhabitants, situated at the 
mouth of the river of the same name. Itajahy has an especial claim to renown as the 
birthplace of one of Brazil’s greatest statesmen, Dr. Lauro Muller. It takes importance 
as the nearest point of export for rich mineral products, manganese, mica, etc., which have 


THE PRINCIPAL PARK OF FLORIANOPOLIS. 


recently been discovered in the vicinity. The Itajahy River, varying in width from five 
hundred feet to a quarter of a mile between Blumenau and the seaport, is navigable by 


340 TELE ON EVI ALLL 


small vessels for thirty miles. The exports of Blumenau include tobacco, sugar, wheat and 
dairy products. It is one of the most picturesque of the many attractive towns of Santa 
Catharina, and the predominance of 
Teutonic types and customs gives it 
an appearance more German than 
Brazilian, though the inhabitants are 
loyal to the land of their adoption, 
and take pride in everything which 
advances its interests and welfare. 
Blumenau is the centre of a rich agri- 
cultural district which has been indus- 
triously developed, and yields splendid 
harvests annually. The production 
from the tobacco plantations alone 
represents an important revenue, about 
ten million cigars being exported every 
year to supply the markets of Hamburg 
and Bremen. The dairy products fur- 
nish another valuable source of wealth, 
about five hundred tons of butter being 
shipped annually, in addition to large 
quantities of cheese, ham, fruits, and 
other articles. In the neighborhood 
of Blumenau, on the northern bank of 
the Itajahy, there is an abundance of 
granite and marble of a superior quality, which awaits exploitation by enterprising capitalists. 
Although no railroads have yet been completed to connect this city with the coast and with 
other interior towns, the municipality maintains in good condition about one thousand five 
hundred miles of wagon roads. Blumenau is connected with the port of Itajahy by steamer. 

Another flourishing German colony, Brusque, situated on the Itajahy, between Blum- 
enau and the port, is especially noted for its manufacturing enterprises. A new railway 
line is projected from Blumenau to Hamonia, which is the centre of a Hanseatic colony 
established a few years ago, and from this line branches will be extended to the Rio 
Negro on the north and to Curytibanos at the southwest. This enterprise is in the hands 
of German capitalists, and is not connected with the proposed system of the Sao Paulo 
and Rio Grande Railway Company, which is not only constructing a line to cross the State 
from the Parana boundary at Porto da Unido to the northern border of Rio Grande do 
Sul, as part of the trunk line from Rio to the southern limits of the republic, but is also at 
work on the line from the port of Sao Francisco to the Falls of Iguassu, as previously 
stated. Already one may go by railway from Sao Francisco to Joinville, ten miles away, 


AYSTREETSOFR THE CAPITAL: 


eV Edm AINA 341 


and the line is being rapidly extended inland. Other routes have been surveyed, by the 
construction of which the whole interior will be crossed by a network of railways. One of 


THE MARKET PLACE, FLORIANOPOLIS. 


the oldest towns of the interior is Lages, the centre of rich pasture lands in the southern 
part of the high plateau which extends across the State from north to south, and which, in 
Santa Catharina, as in Sao Paulo and Parana, is separated from the coast region by the Serra 
do Mar, or Coast Range. In addition to cattle raising, the people cultivate the soil with 
profitable results, producing good harvests of fruits and cereals. Wine growing is a 


promising industry, and maté 
is exported from the forests. 
Another town of great promise 
is Curytibanos, which takes its 
name from the fact that the 
founders were natives of Cury- 
tiba in Parana, soldiers who 
made this their resting place 
on their marches between the 
national capital and their head- 
quarters in the south. Curyti- 
banos is situated at the junction 
of two roads which cross the 
State from the northern to the 


BOCAYUVA AVENUE, FLORIANOPOLIS, 


342 THE NEW BRAZIL 


southern boundary, and in the centre of a fertile agricultural region. Its products are similar 
to those of Lages, as the natural conditions governing the two places are practically the same. 

The discovery in this locality of valuable deposits of clay suitable for the manufacture of 
cement has led to the organization of a company to exploit this industry, which is of vast 
importance, as the various port improvements now under way require the employment of 
immense quantities of cement. Experiments and analyses made by a skilful expert of the 
laboratory of Zurich, Switzerland, resulted in a report so favorable that capital was at once 


THE MUNICIPAL CHAMBER, FLORIANOPOLIS. 


subscribed for the establishment of cement works with a capacity of three hundred barrels 
daily, which are in operation at a point situated between the municipalities of Brusque 
and Lages. 

Especial attention has recently been attracted to the coast region in the southern part of 
the State, where the coal mines of Tubardo have been explored with promising results. The 
Donna Theresa Christina railroad, which was built a few years ago to connect these mines 
with the seaport of Imbituba, and which passes through the town of Tubardo, now has a 
short branch running along the coast south from Imbituba to Laguna, and is being extended 
northward from Imbituba to Massiambu, while another branch is under construction from 
Tubardo south to Ararangua near the boundary of Rio Grande do Sul. All these towns are 


SANTA CATHARINA 343 


Situated in a fertile zone, and under favor- 
able circumstances are destined to become 
rich and prosperous cities. Laguna has a 
population of about twenty-five thousand, 
and is well situated, overlooking Laguna 
Bay on one side and the Atlantic Ocean 
on the other. It appears to have been the 
Site of a very ancient population, judging 
from the immense shell-mound, or sam- 
baqui, of prehistoric construction which is 
piled up near the ocean. All along the 
coast of Santa Catharina similar formations 
are found, notably at the picturesque little 
harbor of Porto Bello, about thirty miles 
south of Itajahy, which has further. inter- 
est for the archeologist because of the 
peculiar hieroglyphics that mark the sea- 


THE CATHEDRAL, FLORIANOPOLIS. 


front of the little rocky island of Joao de Cunha in this harbor. A few miles north 
of Massiambt is situated the city of Sao José, immediately opposite the State capital of 
Florianopolis with which it is connected by ferry boat, as are also the towns of Palhoca, 


Biguassu, Tijucas, and other coast ports. 
as Caldas da Imperatriz. 


Near Palhoga are the thermal springs known 


VIEW OF FLORIANOPOLIS FROM THE BAY. 


344 THE NEW BRAZIL 


Florianopolis, the capital of the State of Santa Catharina, is one of the most picturesque 
cities of Brazil. It is situated on the island of Santa Catharina, under the shelter of a back- 
ground of hills, green with verdure and presenting varied aspects, as they rise gracefully 
from the water’s edge to a height of from one thousand to three thousand feet, under the 
clearest of skies and surrounded by the blue waters of the Atlantic. The city faces the 
mainland, from which it is separated by a strait about five miles in width. The entire 
island is a garden of beauty, its sunny hillsides bright with the blossoms of many fruits, 
its valleys rich in the varied 
hues of flowers and shrubs, its 
lanes shaded by the branches 
of towering trees and redo- 
lent of the perfume from bor- 
dering hedges. A drive from 
the city to the island’s south- 
ern limits is a pleasure never 
to be forgotten, so beautiful 
is the scenery, so charming is 
every expression of nature in 
this’ favored’ spot) |The «city, 
has a population of thirty thou- 
sand people and is well laid 
out, with paved streets, parks 
and houses of solid construc- 
tion. The palace of the gov- 
ernor is a handsome modern 
structure of white stone, the 
interior finished in hardwood 
from native forests and har- 
moniously and elegantly fur- 
nished. The Charity Hospital, 

THE STATE TREASURY, FLORIANOPOLIS. “Santa Casa,” is a spacious 

and well-appointed institution, 

occupying a favorable site on the hillside in full view of the harbor. In addition to the 
hospital there are many charities maintained by benevolent societies connected with the 
churches. A beautiful sentiment inspired the ladies of Florianopolis to found an ‘‘Associacgao 
das Damas de Caridad” on May 5, 1907, for the purpose of supplying medicine and food 
to the sick poor, of clothing indigent children and of meeting other demands of the helpless 
and suffering who are not reached through the established charities. The city has a cathe- 
dral and several beautiful churches, a theatre, and many schools for primary and secondary 
instruction, with colleges for more advanced courses. A well-furnished public library 


SANTA CATHARINA 345 


is one of its progressive institutions. In the residence section are many beautiful 
private houses, some of them picturesquely situated in the midst of luxuriant verdure, 
surrounded by gardens and 
overlooking the sea. 

As the chief seat of gov- 
ernment, Florianopolis is the 
most important city of the 
State. It is the headquarters 
for foreign commerce and : ell Dit 
ships from all countries visit seats SS 
is .pons, we Steamers. Ol) the 
Lloyd Brazileiro and the Cos- 
teira lines call twice a week 
each way, and European steam- 
ers of the Hamburg-American 
and other lines are frequently THE CUSTOM HOUSE, FLORIANOPOLIS. 
seen in this harbor. As yet 
the country has not reaped the full benefit of its wonderful resources, though the annual 
exports are valued at nearly three million dollars gold and the imports at half that 
total, the custom house receipts amounting to half a million dollars annually. Within 
the past few years the State of Santa Catharina, as well as the rest of Brazil, has begun 
a new era of progress and enterprise, and the result is seen in every branch of public 
interest, Social, industrial, and commercial. Ever since the inauguration of the republic 
this State has been developing in political and commercial importance, due to the patriotic 
efforts of its great men, among whom its first republican governor, Dr. Lauro Muller 


LAKE AT BLUMENAU, SANTA CATHARINA. 


holds a place of especial honor, not only for what he has done for his own State but 
for all Brazil. The present chief executive is Dr. Gustavo Richard, a statesman of high 


346 THE NEW BRAZIL 


A PICTURESQUE CASCADE IN SANTA CATHARINA. 


principles and good judgment, whose administration is marked by continued progress and 
advancement. His efforts have been directed with equal interest and determination to every 
department of the government, and the reports of his secretaries show that this activity 
has been productive of good results to the political, educational, and industrial welfare of 
Uileoe tare: 


DR. BLUMENAU STREET, SHOWING THE NEW PUBLIC SCHOOL, BLUMENAU. 


THE ‘LIBRARY 
OF THE 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 


‘“AULVAHL GNV ONIGTING AYNSVAYL ONIMOHS ‘FYOR TV OLYOd “ONOGOSd TWYENAD VOVUd 


CHAPTER XXI 


RIO GRANDE DO SUL 


Ee IO GRANDE DO SUL is one of the 
most important States of the Brazilian 
Union, and none has been more prominent 
in the political affairs of the nation than this 
border province, which covers an area of nine 
thousand square leagues, bounded on the 
north and west by the Uruguay River, by 
the Atlantic Ocean on the east, and by the 
republic of Uruguay on the south. Originally 
this territory belonged to the disputed pos- 
sessions on the banks of the Uruguay which 
were claimed by both Spain and Portugal, 
and it was the scene of continued warfare 
for many years. During these troublous 
e: i periods, the people developed a spirit of 
A CHURCH IN PORTO ALEGRE. military valor and unyielding independence 
that found expression in many noble deeds 
of patriotism. Many of the nation’s most distinguished generals were cradled in this 
State, which gave to Brazil the immortal hero General Bittencourt, and the invincible 
leader General Osorio. For many years the records of military glory eclipsed the annals 
of more prosaic achievements in industrial development, though in the intervals of quiet 
that marked the history of the country after it became a province of the empire in 1822, and 
especially during the government of its first president, Viscount de Sao Leopoldo, great 
advancement was made in colonization, education, and the charitable associations that are 
always indicative of social progress. The greatest development of the vast resources of this 
State has been accomplished within a comparatively short time. -At the present rate of 
progress there is no limit to the growth and prosperity in store for the enterprising people 
349 


350 THE NEW BRAZIL 


GENERAL VIEW OF PORTO ALEGRE, CAPITAL OF THE STATE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL. 


who now control an important share of the commercial interests of Brazil and are annually 


extending the trade of their State. 


Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost State of the republic. The Serra do Mar, or 
Serra Geral, as this coast range is called in the more southern sections of Brazil, divides the 
interior from the coast as in all the States through which it passes; but the coast region of 


INTERIOR OF THE GOVERNMENT PALACE, PORTO ALEGRE. 


Rio Grande do Sul differs from 
that of the more northern States, 
for it consists largely of lakes 
and lagoons; the principal of 
these, the Lagoa dos Patos, is 
about a hundred and fifty miles 
long by thirty miles wide, and 
is navigable by ocean ves- 
Sels, though at some seasons, 
when the tide is low, delays 
are occasioned by the sand- 
banks. Picturesquely situated 
in this lagoon stands the Ita- 
poan lighthouse to guide the 
pilots taking ships to the vari- 
ous ports. In addition to the 
range that extends along the 


coast, there is a series of serras 
crossing the State from the 
Serra do Mar, at a point near 
the northern extremity of the 
Lagoa dos Patos, to the western 
boundary; this range divides 
the interior of the State into 
two natural regions: the north- 
ern, which is watered by in- 
numerable tributaries flowing 
northward into the river Uru- 
guay, which marks the State 
boundary line; and the south- 
ern, traversed by the lower 
tributaries that flow west to 
join the Uruguay, and also by 
the rivers that flow east into 


RIOSCGKANDE DO@SOL 351 


THE DOCKS AT PORTO ALEGRE. 


the Lagoa dos Patos, principally the Jacuhy, Taquary, and Camaquam. The northern 
section of the State is covered with vast and fertile campos, or plains, and sertées, or 
woodlands. Valuable mineral deposits have been located in this region which is, however, 


THE MUNICIPAL THEATRE, PORTO ALEGRE. 


352 THE NEW BRAZIL 


particularly adapted to the purposes of cattle raising and wheat growing. The southern 
part of the State has heretofore possessed more available conditions for industrial growth 
than the northern districts, and is generally cultivated. Two lines of railway cross it 
from the sea coast to the Uruguay River, and numerous agricultural colonies have been 
established in the most favorable localities. The State is rich in all kinds of minerals; 
though the coal mines in the southeast, and the copper, gold, and other minerals, have 
been worked only to a limited extent. Gold has been found at Lavras and Sdo Sepe, in the 
southern region, a few leagues from the capital, and in the rivers that water these districts. 


A STREET SCENE IN THE CAPITAL. 


Copper abounds in the Serra de Cagapava, a spur of the coast range which runs east 
and west through the central section. Silver and lead are among the minerals taken by 
the Vista Alegre Gold Mining Company from their mines at Lavras. In the Serra do Herval, 
which forms part of the range that extends westward from the Serra do Mar, under the 
names Cacgapava, Encruzilada and Herval, rich deposits of mica have been discovered, and 
in the Serra da Cruzilada there are large quantities of manganese. Nickel has been found 
at San Luiz and cobalt at Passo Fundo, in the north. 

Near Porto Alegre, at Arroio dos Ratos, coal mines have been worked on a small scale for 
many years, and in 1896 the output was more than sixteen thousand tons. But the mines 
have never been thoroughly explored, nor have they been worked to their full present 


(LORGRANDERDO SUL “71 


capacity. Petroleum has also been discovered in this vicinity, and with the investment of 
sufficient capital to develop the industry, it would prove one of the most important interests 
of Brazil. Precious stones are found in the northern region, including diamonds, on the Ijuhy 
River, a branch of the Uruguay; amethysts at Passo Fundo; and an abundance of agates, 
onyx, jasper, and chalcedony in various districts. These stones are shipped to Germany for 
lapidation. Marble in abundance and of a superb quality is found in the valleys of the Caca- 
pava and Encruzilada range, and in the Jaguardo valley near the southern border of the State. 

The chief revenue of the State of Rio Grande do Sul is derived from the pasture lands, 
upon which graze thousands of herds. The “Rio Grandense,” as a native of this State is 


THE MUNICIPAL CHAMBER, PORTO ALEGRE. 


called, is, like the typical Texan of the United States, first of alla ranchman. His vast cattle 
ranges cover the southern campos; and although the foreign colonies have invaded all other 
sections of the State, they are few in number in this region, which is divided up into 
estancias or ranches for cattle raising purposes exclusively. The campos or prairie lands 
cover nearly two-thirds of the area of the State, and an estancia varies in extent from one 
to Six square leagues. 

The great xarqueados, or slaughtering establishments where the dried beef, called xarque, 
is prepared for market, present an interesting, though uninviting appearance, when the beef- 
drying process is going on. All xarque is dried in the sun, and an extensive area is covered 


354 THE NEW BRAZIL 


with the racks on which the beef is suspended until ready for shipment. The dried beef 
exports amount annually to more than six million dollars in value, the town of Pelotas alone 


THE PORTUGUESE HOSPITAL AND CHURCH, PORTO ALEGRE. 


disposing of half a million head of cattle for this purpose. In addition to the wealth derived 
from the cattle ranches, the State receives a large revenue from the export of tobacco, 
leather, wool, cotton, fruits, and vegetables. . 

The climate of Rio Grande do Sul is moderate and agreeable, the four seasons being 
sufficiently pronounced to affect the process of agriculture, as in all temperate zones. 
Summer is at its height in January, February and March; autumn begins in April and lasts 
till June; then winter sets in and extends through July, August and September; the spring 
season is from October to December. In winter the cold wind from the Andes causes 
freezing weather, and in the more elevated regions of the State the winter is intensely cold, 
the lakes freeze over, and snow falls; in summer the heat is extreme, especially in the 
northern sections, the temperature sometimes rising to forty degrees centigrade. The State 
is renowned for the salubrity of its climate, malaria being practically unknown even in the 
vicinity of the lakes and rivers. 


RIO- GRANDE DO SUL 355 


Rio Grande do Sul has one million five hundred thousand inhabitants, being the fifth 
among the Brazilian States in density of population, though only the tenth in-area.» The State 
is traversed by several lines 
of railway, the most important 
being the Porto Alegre and Uru- 
guayana, which extends from 
Porto Alegre, the capital of the 
State, westward to the Uruguay 
River, and has a branch line 
southward from the station of 
Cacequy to the city of Bagé, 
covering, in all, a distance of 
several hundred miles. A trip 
over this line takes one through 
the central part of the State and 
affords an opportunity to judge 
of the advantages for success- 
ful colonization which are pre- 
sented in the healthful climate and fertile soil of this favored region. Prosperous farming 
communities are located at various points along this railway between Porto Alegre and Bageé 
and also along the Santa Maria and Uruguay railway, which extends northward from the 
Station of Santa Maria, on the main line of the Porto Alegre and Uruguayana to Cruz Alta 
and Passo Fundo, a distance of 
two hundred and fifty miles. 
From Passo Fundo this line is 
being constructed to the north- 
ern border of the State, where 
it will meet the extension of 
the Sao Paulo and Rio Grande 
railway and form a section of 
the great southern Brazilian 
system. From Bagé to the port 
of Rio Grande do Sul, railway 
facilities are afforded by the Rio 
Grande and Bagé line, which 
connects these two cities, two 
hundred miles apart. Shorter 
lines connect the capital with 
important colonies. The Porto Alegre and Novo Hamburgo line, which is the chief means of 
transportation between Porto Alegre and the colonies of S40 Leopoldo and Novo Hamburgo, 


THE LYCEUM AND PUBLIC LIBRARY, PORTO ALEGRE. 


RUA MARECHAL PEIXOTO, PORTO ALEGRE. 


356 THES NEWABRAZIE 


is the oldest railway in the State, having been opened to traffic in 1874. An extension of 
this line to Taquara, thirty miles beyond, was recently built by an association of Porto 
Alegre capitalists. The Quarahy and Uruguayana railway extends along the bank of the 
Uruguay River for a distance of one hundred and fifty miles. All these railways have a 
gauge of one metre, and the cars and locomotives are of North American manufacture. The 
State has a thousand miles of railways in operation and new lines are under construction. 
Porto Alegre is one of the largest and most important cities of southern Brazil. Situated 
on the left bank of the Guahyba River, near the northern extremity of the Lagoa dos 
Patos, or Duck Lagoon, the capital is the commercial and industrial centre of a fertile 
territory covering thousands of square miles. It is built on a picturesque promontory 
jutting out into the river from the eastern bank and facing a narrow passage at the 
estuary formed by the confluence of the Jacuhy and the Guahyba rivers. The lagoon is 
one hundred and fifty miles long and thirty miles wide, and owing to a number of barras, 
or shallow places, it is navigable only for 
steamers of light draught; but with the sys- 
tem of dredging which the government is 
inaugurating, it will be kept in such a condi- 
tion that all ships that call at the port of Rio 
Grande do Sul may pass on up the lagoon to 
the State capital. This trip is very interesting 
and agreeable to travellers, who thus have an 
opportunity to see something of the country. 
After leaving the city of Rio Grande do Sul, 
at the entrance to the lagoon, the steamer 
iss bound for Porto Alegre makes its only inter- 
THE SCHOOL OF ENGIRECRING] PORTO tet: mediate call at Pelotas, which is also situated 
at the southern extremity of the lake, near 
the mouth of the river Sdo Gongalo. Leaving Pelotas, the view for a considerable distance : 
is confined to flat fields on which are the various establishments for the preparation of 
xarque. Row after row, the strips into which the beef is cut when hung to dry in the 
sun extend for miles along the border of the river. As the steamer continues northward, 
the green pasture lands may be seen, with the Serra do Mar to the west. Belem Novo, 
Belem Velho, and Tristeza are picturesque suburbs of Porto Alegre that appear to view as 
the steamer approaches the port, after having passed the Itapoan lighthouse and the pretty 
little port of Pedras Brancas, on the opposite side of the lagoon. The city of Porto Alegre 
was originally settled, in 1742, by colonists from the Azores, who gave it the name of Porto 
dos Casaes, which was changed thirty years later to its present name, Porto Alegre [the 
Joyful Port]. The foundation of its commercial prosperity was laid when large colonies of 
Germans were established there after the Prussian revolution of 1848. The city numbers a 
hundred thousand inhabitants, of whom nearly one-fourth are of German descent. It is 


HIOSGRANDE DO VSUL 357 


metropolitan in appearance, having broad, 
well-paved streets, handsome public build- 
ings, large business houses, and attractive resi- 
dences and parks; electricity and gas are used 
for lighting purposes, and the waterworks 
system is excellent. Two street car lines 
connect the central district with the suburbs, 
and a new electric car system is under con- 
struction, which, when completed, will give 
to the city a street car service unsurpassed 
for comfort and rapid transit facilities. 

The spirit of enterprise is especially to be 
seen in the modern public buildings, which 
are among the finest in Brazil. The Municipal 
Chamber, or City Hall, is a magnificent struc- 
ture occupying a favorable site in the central 
part of the city and facing the public square. 


A CENTRAL THOROUGHFARE OF PELOTAS, STATE OF 
RIO GRANDE DO SUL. 


It stands close to the river bank and is one of the attractive features of the city as seen 
from the harbor. Built of the stone of the country, its beautiful facade is supported and 
ornamented with marble pillars hewn from native quarries. The School of Engineering, the 


ENTRANCE TO THE PARK, PELOTAS. 


358 THE NEW BRAZIL 


Catholic Seminary, the Military School, the Portuguese Hospital, and the Public Library are 
among the more important institutions. The cathedral isa handsome edifice, and the munici- 
pal theatre is spacious and of modern construction. Not only is Porto Alegre the largest city 
of the State and important as the political centre, but its industrial progress is notable. The 
commerce of the State is conducted chiefly through large firms of Porto Alegre who have 
branch houses in the northern parts of Brazil, in Argentina and in Europe. Trade is regulated 
by Chambers of Commerce in the principal cities, the leading merchants meeting therein to 
discuss business and fix current prices. The Banco da Provincia and the Banco do Com- 
mercio of Porto Alegre, with branches in Rio Grande do Sul and Pelotas, are the most impor- 
tant financial institutions, though in the capital are also branch establishments of the London 
and Brazilian Bank, Limited, and the German Bank, which have headquarters at Rio Grande 
do Sul. Complete telegraphic 
communication is maintained 
between the capital and all 
towns of importance, the 
system covering three thou- 
sand miles, and connecting 
sixty stations. The tele- 
phone has become one of 
the necessities not only of 
Porto Alegre but of all the 
other important cities, and 
long distance lines connect 
them with each other and 
with neighboring colonies. 
The chief seaport of the 
State is Rio Grande do Sul, 
Situated at the southern ex- 
tremity of the Lagoa dos Patos, where a narrow strait connects the lagoon with the ocean. 
It lies on a sandy peninsula and is the port of entrance for all vessels to Pelotas and Porto 
Alegre. Two lines of coasting steamers furnish a weekly service between Rio de Janeiro 
and Porto Alegre, the Lloyd Brazileiro and the Costeira, though the coasting ships of the 
former are too large to make the trip up the lagoon from Rio Grande to Porto Alegre, so 
the passengers are transferred at the seaport to a small lake steamer. Besides these two 
lines passengers are also carried by many companies engaged in the coast trade, though 
they have no regular itinerary. Foreign steamships of the Hamburg-American and other 
lines make regular trips to this port, though the sand-bar at the mouth of the harbor 
has long been a drawback to the foreign trade of the State. Fortunately, owing to the 
activity of the government and the progressive policy that makes itself felt in every 
branch of the administration, the work of securing a passage thirty-three feet deep 


THE QUARTEL AND INTENDENCIA, CITY OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL. 


MiOSGKANDEVDOVSUL 359 


over the bar, in order to afford 
entrance to ships of large ton- 
nage at all times of the year, 
has been placed in the hands of 
expert harbor engineers, who 
have begun the operations and 
will carry them to completion 
without delay. When this great 
enterprise is finished the com- 
merce of the State and the im- 
portance of the seaport of Rio 
Grande do Sul will be greatly 
augmented. The city has a 
population of twenty-five thou- 
sand, is beautified by several 
parks, and the streets, though generally narrow, following the old Portuguese style, are 
well-paved and excellently lighted. A street car line connects the city with its suburbs. 
In the Praga Tamandaré, the most beautiful public garden of the State, a marble column 
commemorates the emancipation of the slaves in Brazil. Facing this garden are some of the 
important public buildings, the Intendencia, the Quartel, the Post Office, the Custom House, 
the Beneficencia Portuguesa, and the Public Library, with its spacious reading room and its 
corridors filled with books, numbering be- 
tween thirty thousand and forty thousand 
volumes. Probably no city south of Sdo 
Paulo has a library so well selected and 
arranged, and possessing so many books of 
great value. Visitors to Rio Grande enjoy 
a halt in this interesting place, where they 
find not only a fine collection of books but 
also all the leading periodicals of the day. 
The founder of the library was Dr. Joao 
Barbosa Coelho, and the Viscount Pinto da 
Rocha contributed most liberally toward its 
maintenance out of his large fortune. A 
very valuable and rare work is the complete 
set, sixty volumes, of Flora Brasiliensis by 
Martius. A numismatic collection is one of 
the interesting features of the library. The 
director, Dr. Carlos Alberto Miller, is a biblio- 


THE LANDING PLACE, PORT OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL. 


A VIEW OF THE PUBLIC GARDEN, RIO 
GRANDE DO SUL. phile and a littérateur. 


360 THESNEV BIGAAILE 


The churches, schools and charitable institutions of the city occupy spacious and com- 
modious buildings which speak well for the character of the community. Although the 
Roman Catholic is the popular form of worship in this State, yet there is the utmost religious 
freedom, and churches of various denominations are established in the different towns. 
The Protestant Episcopal Church has many communicants and the Presbyterians and 
Methodists are also well represented. The Roman Catholic Church maintains several noble 
charities, which occupy much of the time of the ladies. The hospital Santa Casa de Miser- 
cordia, under the direction of the Sisters of S. Francisco de Assis, takes charge of a thousand 
patients during the year, and the Orphans’ Asylum, which is directed by the Sisters of the 
Heart of Mary, a Brazilian order, provides a home and instruction to the unfortunates for 
whom it is intended. Under the present administration, the interests of education have been 
greatly advanced, the Intendente, Dr. Juvenal Octaviano Miller, devoting especial attention to 
public instruction. The industrial progress of the city is shown by the flourishing condition 
of its various manufacturing enterprises, especially its woollen mills, which are among the 
most important in Brazil. Pelotas, the second city of the State in population, has forty 
thousand inhabitants, and is only a few miles distant from the seaport of Rio Grande do 
Sul, with which it is connected by railway. It is a rich and prosperous city, with handsome 
public buildings, fine residences, and beautiful parks, and presents a general appearance of 
well-being and comfort. Its greatest source of revenue is the «argue, though it has factories 
of various kinds, and its breweries are the best in Brazil. A very important enterprise is 
the patent medicine establishment owned by the Viscount de Souza Soares, located near the 
entrance to the Parque Pelotense, which is his handsome gift to the city of Pelotas. The 
park covers an extensive area 
and is a favorite resort, being 
easily reached by street car from 
any part of the city. The clubs 
of Pelotas are features of social 
life which by their elegance and 
comfort afford additional evi- 
dence of its prosperity. 

The oldest foreign colony, 
which, however, is no longer 
foreign, as its ten thousand in- 
habitants are principally of Bra- 
zilian birth and in many cases 
: of Brazilian parentage, is the 

MISERICORDIA HOSPITAL, RIO GRANDE DO SUL. prosperous municipality of Sao 
Leopoldo, twenty miles from 

the State capital, on the line of the New Hamburg railway, and in the heart of one of the 
richest districts in the State. It supports several industries, and is an attractive place of 


RIO GRANDE DO SUL 361 


residence; its two colleges, the Collegio Sado José, founded in 1869, which has three hundred 
boys in attendance, and a girls’ school, established in 1872, which has two hundred and fifty 
pupils, are among the best edu- 
cational institutions in the State. 
The colony was founded in 
1824, and was peopled by Ger- 
man immigrants, who brought 
to their new home the frugal — 
and industrious habits learned 
in the fatherland. 

Most of the colonies are 
either of German or Italian ori- 
gin. Bento Gon¢alves, a settle- 
ment covering forty thousand 
acres, and peopled chiefly by 
Italians, exports annually a mil- 
lion dollars’ worth of agricultural 
products. It has a population 
of twenty thousand and is TAMANDARE PARK, RIO GRANDE DO SUL. 
srowing rapidly. Jaguary, in 
the western part of the State, covering, thirty thousand acres, and having a population of 
fifteen thousand, exports cereals annually to the value of half a million dollars; and Guaporé, 
which was founded in 1go0, produced as its second year’s harvest cereals, etc., valued at four 
hundred and sixty thousand dollars. With increased railway facilities the agricultural com- 
munities are not only gaining wealth, but are enjoying the advantages of more general social 
intercourse, with its refining and broadening influence. The progress of some of the most 
important towns of the State began with the inauguration of the railway, which stimulated 
enterprise and competition between cities formerly so widely separated from each other and 
so inaccessible from the seaport, as to have little incentive for enterprising endeavor. Uru- 
guayana, situated on the western frontier, has developed greatly since the extension of the 
railway from Porto Alegre and Alegrete; and Bagé, the most important city of the interior, 
has multiplied its industry and commerce many times over since the establishment of the 
railway from Porto.Alegre to Pelotas and Rio Grande do Sul has given service to this 
city, which has many important public buildings, churches, and hospitals, and a population 
of eighteen thousand. 

Public instruction in Rio Grande, as in most Brazilian States, is under the supervision of 
a general inspector assisted by a number of district inspectors. The school population is 
about fifty thousand, the primary schools numbering one thousand, and providing instruc- 
tion for thirty-eight thousand children of both sexes. There is.a growing tendency to 
devote the greatest amount of attention to primary schools with a view to broadening the 


362 THE NEW BRAZIL 


scope of educational work and giving to all classes a share in the blessings of instruction. 
The government of the State of Rio Grande do Sul is carried on in accordance with the 
principles of liberty as expressed in the State constitution, promulgated in 1891. The 
president is elected for five years by direct general vote, and the vice-president is chosen 
and nominated by the president. Three secretaries assist the president as heads of the 
Departments of Finance, the Interior, and Public Works, respectively. 

The first constitutional president of the State was Dr. Julio Prates de Castilhos, one of 
the greatest men this State has given to the republic; he was inaugurated in January 1893, 
and to his efforts the successful political organization of the State was largely due. In 
his death on October 24, 1903, Brazil was called to mourn one of her greatest and most 
capable statesmen. The present President, Dr. Antonio Augusto Borges de Medeiros, was 
elected in 1898 to succeed Dr. Castilhos, and his government proved so satisfactory that he 
was reelected in 1903 by the unanimous vote of the people. Under his administration, the 
progress of the State has been uninterrupted, and its industries and trade have notably 
increased. The State of Rio Grande do Sul, while making-rapid strides forward in com- 
mercial importance, is not neglectful of the intellectual graces that give to society its finest 
charm. Not only have great generals claimed as their native place the green hillsides and 
flourishing groves of this Brazilian southland, but giants in the arena of mental contest have 
been proud to point to this favored country as their beloved home. Statesmen, orators, 
jurists, celebrated educators, and renowned journalists have gone out from the Joyful Port 
to fight the battle of life with proud purpose and steady principle, and have won the 
applause of a grateful nation for contributions to science surpassing in value even the more 
dazzling accomplishments of military glory. In the arts of peace, a spirit of determination 
and a clear-headed grasp of the situation are making these people successful in achieving 
the greatest industrial prosperity for the Prairie State of Brazil. 


LIGHTHOUSE OF ITAPOAN, NEAR PORTO ALEGRE. 


THE LIBRARY 
OF THE 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 


‘9941 QHHSITAVLSA ‘YSILNOYA NVIANYAd FHL NO TZVUd dO LSOd AUVLITIW LSVT AHL ‘VONILVEVL 


CHAPTER XxXIl 
THE NATIONAL REVENUE, COMMERCE, AND TRANSPORTATION 


HE increasing development of the re- 
sources of Brazil, the improvement of 
trade relations, and the extension of com- 
merce are reflected in the growing importance 
of the nation’s financial affairs, the greater 
quantity and variety of merchandise passing 
through its ports annually and the rapid in- 
crease of its transportation facilities. Accord- 
ing to the budget of 1907, the revenue of 
Brazil amounts, in milreis, to eighty-four 
million gold and two hundred and fifty million 
= : paper, the expenditure being fifty million gold 
OBSERVATION ENGINE. and three hundred million paper. The princi- 

pal receipts are derived from duties on imports, 

inland revenue, and sundry or “extraordinary” revenue, in addition to the redemption, guar- 
antee, and sinking funds. The expenditure of the six ministries is: finance, forty million gold 
and one hundred million paper; public works, six million gold and eighty million paper; 
the navy, one million gold and thirty-five million paper; foreign affairs, two million gold and 
one million five hundred thousand paper; war, one hundred thousand gold and sixty million 
paper; and justice and interior, ten thousand gold and thirty million paper. The greatest 
expenses are those of the finance department and the department of public works, the 
former having in charge all negotiations relating to the payment of the national debt, which 
amounts to a hundred million pounds sterling. More than one-fourth of this amount was 
borrowed under the empire, and of the remainder, eight million five hundred thousand 
pounds were borrowed in 1903 and 1905 for the port works and sanitary improvements of 
Rio, the balance being chiefly moneys obtained to enable the Federal government to secure 


the control of railways already built, and to construct new lines, as well as to promote other 
305 


366 THE NEW BRAZIL 


public works necessary to the economic development of the country. The flourishing 
condition of national industries and the extension of commercial relations resulting from 
these operations have placed the government in a position to meet all obligations without 
embarrassment, and to enjoy permanent progress on the broad basis of national enterprise. 

The most important institution of credit in the country is the Bank of Brazil, which 
was founded by King Dom Jodo VI. in 1808. After passing through various changes and 
vicissitudes, it was finally reorganized under the administration of President Rodrigues Alves, 
whose finance minister, Dr. Leopoldo Bulhdes, established it as a mixed institution, man- 
aged by a board composed of a chairman and four directors. The chairman and one of. 
the directors are appointed by the Federal government and the three other directors are 
elected by the shareholders. The director elected by the government is in charge of the 
exchange department. The capital of the bank is seventy million milreis, of which one-third 
is owned by the government. The Bank of Brazil has the monopoly of the emission of 
gold cheques for payment of duties at the custom houses throughout Brazil, amounting 
to more than twelve million pounds sterling, annually. Besides the Bank of Brazil there 
are Brazilian, Portuguese, English, German, and Italian banks of considerable importance. 
There is no North American bank in Brazil, though the increasing commerce between the 
two countries would lead one to suppose it would be almost a necessity. 

Although the products of Brazilian forests and mines have been famous ever since 
the discovery of its rich dyewood gave a name to the country and legends of eldorado 
brought adventurers to its wilds from all parts of the globe, yet it is only within a century 
that Brazilian commerce has competed with that of other countries, its trade having been 
exclusively with Portugal up to the year 1808, when the Regent Dom Joao VI. issued 
the edict which opened Brazilian ports to the commerce of all nations. During the early 
period that followed the settlement of the capitanias, and while the first efforts were 
being made toward industrial development, ships for trading in Brazil were sent out 
from the mother country in fleets, under the protection of men-of-war. Later, in the 
Seventeenth century, a powerful company was formed in Lisbon and given practically 
the monopoly of Brazilian trade; and with armed vessels and marine regiments of 
infantry and artillery, this company sent each year a large fleet, which started out from 
Lisbon and Oporto, went first to Recife (Pernambuco), then to Bahia and Rio de Janeiro, 
and returned to Lisbon with gold, sugar, hides, tobacco, and other products of the colony. 
In consequence of complaints made against this monopoly by merchants of Brazil, the 
company was suppressed in 1720, and although others were subsequently formed, they 
finally met the same fate, because of the many evils they had wrought through an 
extortionate monopoly. An idea of the enormous wealth secured by these companies 
may be obtained from the statistics of that period, which show that in the year 1800 the 
value of Brazilian exports was twenty million dollars gold (equal to those of the United 
States at the close of the war of Independence), and the imports reached ten million 
dollars in value. 


NATIONAL REVENUE, COMMERCE, AND TRANSPORTATION 367 


In view of the conditions which governed the politics of Europe a century ago, the 
Carta Regia of 1808 was an extremely liberal decree, and it merits especial consideration 


ENTRANCE HALL, ROYAL MAIL STEAMER ‘‘ARAGUAYA.” 


from the fact that it was issued seventeen years before Great Britain gave the right of 
international commerce to her subjects in the New World. The Portuguese sovereign mani- 
fested the greatest desire to promote the welfare of his American subjects, and the Carta 
Regia was followed by royal decrees protecting native industries and seeking to increase 
the wealth of the country. Further decrees announcing that the Inquisition should never 
be established in Brazil, and that commerce in slaves should be restricted with a view to its 
final abolition, are evidences of the benign spirit and lofty sentiment which governed his 
political ideas. The restriction of the coasting trade to national vessels, still a law of the 
country, having been adopted by the Republican Constitution, was decreed by Dom 
Jodo VI. in 1816, and confirmed by the Emperor Dom Pedro I. in 1826. Although many 
difficulties had to be surmounted before the decree of 1808 produced the benefits for which 
it was intended, and it was only by the constitution of the empire that absolute commercial 
and industrial liberty was secured to Brazil, yet this act marked the inauguration of much 
better conditions than had previously existed, and opened the way toward the great national 
progress and development which is to-day attracting the attention of the civilized world. 

A great impetus was given to the commerce of the country during the first years of 
the empire when the export of coffee began to assume importance, and again in the early 
sixties when Brazilian cotton was an article greatly in demand in foreign markets. By the 


368 THE NEW BRAZIL 


opening of the Amazon and its tributaries to the merchant ships of all nations in 1867, the 
Emperor Dom Pedro II., carried out the last provision of the famous Carta Regia of 1808, 
and greatly stimulated foreign trade in that region. Since 1862 the exports of Brazil have 
exceeded its imports annually, and both have grown rapidly within the past twenty years. 

According to the statistics of 1906, Brazil now exports goods to the value of two 
hundred and sixty million dollars gold, annually, the imports amounting to one hundred 
and sixty-three million dollars gold. The best market for Brazilian products is the United 
States, which, in 1906, was a purchaser to the value of ninety-two million dollars gold. 
On the other hand, the United States takes only third place among the countries supplying 
the Brazilian market, Great Britain ranking first and Germany second. During the year 1906, 
Brazilian merchandise imported from Great Britain amounted in value to- forty-five million 
dollars gold, and that imported from Germany to twenty-four million dollars gold, while the 
imports from the United States amounted to but twenty million dollars gold in value. 

Although coffee, rubber, and yerba maté at present represent eighty per cent of the 
total exports of Brazil, yet there is an annual increase in the amount and variety of other 
products, due largely to the constant extension and improvement of transportation facilities. 
Hides, tobacco, cotton, cacao, sugar, and mineral products are exported in greater quantities 
every year, and the development of these industries is progressing rapidly, as new lands 
are opened up to colonization and cultivation. Competition for Brazilian trade is close 
between the United States and Argentina; the Brazilian imports from the United States 
exceeded in value those from Argentina by only two million dollars in 1906, while in 1905 
Argentina supplied to Brazil two million dollars’ worth of goods more than was purchased 
from her North American competitor. 

Brazil imports wheat and flour from the United States and Argentina, though the 
establishment of the milling industry at home is lessening the amount of flour imported. 
Wines are imported from France, Portugal, Spain and Italy, the native vineyards supplying 
only a very small percentage of the quantity consumed. Brazilian cotton and woollen mills 
are constantly reducing the amount of imported goods of this class, though silk, linen, etc., 
are imported in larger quantities each year. Electric machinery and materials for railway 
construction, including locomotives, rails, cars, etc., are purchased chiefly in the United 
States, which also supplies an important share of the arms and ammunition used by Brazil, 
though Belgium, England, and France also compete for this trade. England supplies most 
of the coal used in Brazil, though the United States is a rising competitor, the quantity of 
American coal sold to Brazil having more than doubled within the past few years. Rich 
coal fields have been discovered in southern Brazil which promise to. be an important 
source of supply for the home market. France is the favorite market for the purchase of 
fashionable articles of apparel, and paper of various kinds. Argentina competes with the 
United States in supplying canned goods, though France leads in furnishing many food 
preparations. The United States sends half a million cases of kerosene to Brazil annually, 
having almost a monopoly of the Brazilian trade in this product. 


NATIONAL REVENUE, COMMERCE, AND TRANSPORTATION 369 


The countries that have secured the largest share of Brazilian trade have established 
banks in Brazil under their own control, built their own steamship lines, and opened in 
various Brazilian cities business houses under the management of their own merchants. 
In building up a business in Brazil, the most successful foreign merchant is the one who 
establishes a branch house there and supplies it with the goods which experience proves to 
be most salable according to Brazilian ideas and tastes. One advantage which the estab- 
lished merchant possesses over the travelling salesman is in the dispatching of goods through 
the custom houses, the merchants being permitted to have their own clerks dispatch their 


ROYAL MAIL STEAMER ‘‘ARAGUAYA,”’ LEAVING SOUTHAMPTON FOR SOUTH AMERICA. 


goods, while, in other cases, an authorized despachante [a sworn custom house broker], 
working at an established tariff of charges, must be employed. 

A grave obstacle to American competition with European exporters to Brazil heretofore 
has been the fact that freight rates to Brazil were higher from the United States than from 
European ports, merchants claiming that it was cheaper to ship from North America via 
Europe than direct to Brazil. The recent establishment of the Lloyd Brasileiro line of 
steamers between New York and Rio de Janeiro has changed this aspect of affairs and 
American exporters are looking forward to an increase of trade between the United States 
and Brazil as a result of Brazilian initiative and enterprise in this direction. Within the 
past few months three large passenger steamers the Acre, Ceara; and Para, have been 
placed on the Rio and New York service and four more, the Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, 


370 THE NEW BRAZIL 


Minas Geraes, and Bahia, are under construction for the same trade. In addition to the 
new steamers intended especially for the service to North America, the Lloyd Brazileiro 
Company is building thirteen new ships for the coasting and river service of Brazil. The 
largest steamers are of seven thousand tons, have an average speed of sixteen knots an 
hour, and are from the best British shipyards. The seven steamers destined for service 
between New York and Rio are very attractive, and if not so palatial in size as the new liners 
which the Royal Mail Steamship Company has recently put on the route from South- 
ampton to Rio and Buenos Aires, they are models in artistic decoration and modern style. 
They are provided with electric lights, electric fans, and all the comforts required on a 
voyage through the tropics. The cabins and saloons are spacious, and ample decks afford 
the opportunity for plenty of exercise. The grand salon, the music room, and the 
smoking room are furnished elegantly and tastefully, and the cabins de Juxe, consisting 
of parlor, bedroom, and bath are most luxurious and attractive. The inauguration of the 
first three of the new “liners” took place in the harbor of Rio on September 2, 1907, 
and was an event of great importance in the history of the merchant marine of Brazil. In 
response to an invitation from Dr. Buarque de Macedo, the director of the Lloyd Brasileiro 
Company, the President of Brazil, Dr. Affonso Penna, the ministers of his cabinet, and the 
members of the diplomatic corps, as well as the representative society of the Brazilian 
capital, went on board the new steamers, which were “dressed” for the occasion, presenting 
a beautiful spectacle. The Acre started on its first trip to New York two days later, calling 
at Bahia, Pernambuco and Para, and carrying to New York a large party of tourists. Many 
North Americans made a trip to Brazil by this steamer on its return voyage. Tourists who 
now flock to Europe for the summer will no doubt take advantage of the opportunity 
afforded to visit Rio de Janeiro, especially as the summer months of northern latitudes 
correspond to those of winter in the southern continent, and Rio in winter is a paradise. 
The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company began its service to Brazil in 1851, and in 1872 
doubled the number of trips annually, again increasing them as the demand warranted it, 
until at present a weekly service is maintained between Southampton and Brazilian ports, 
some of the company’s steamers being among the finest afloat. The steamer ‘Avon, of eleven 
thousand tons, is the latest acquisition to the fleet, which has also the Araguaya, ten thou- 
sand five hundred and thirty-seven tons register, the Amazon, ten thousand and thirty-six 
tons, and the Aragon, all new vessels, twin-screw, built according to the most approved 
plans, and furnished elegantly, with the idea of comfort paramount in all the arrangements. 
The Araguaya, which was christened by the Countess of Aberdeen and launched under 
peculiarly auspicious circumstances from the Belfast shipyard in 1906, is, in its way, as 
notable a departure in the history of transatlantic navigation as is the great Lusitania, since 
on its maiden voyage it surpassed all previous records between Southampton and South 
American ports and was at that time the largest steamer ever sent to South America, though 
the Avon now enjoys that distinction. The company’s entire fleet is composed of forty- 
two steamers, and its service is divided into four routes: the South American, with weekly 


NATIONAL REVENUE, COMMERCE, AND TRANSPORTATION 271 


steamers from Southampton calling at Cherbourg, Corufia, Vigo, Oporto, Lisbon, Madeira, 
St. Vincent, Pernambuco, Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, Santos, Montevideo, and Buenos Aires; the 


Ott si 


be 


i 


=e 
eo i 


page es _ UIT tnt — 
sail 
' 


& 
= 


RIO STATION, CENTRAL RAILWAY OF BRAZIL. 


West Indian service fortnightly from Southampton to the West Indies, Venezuela, Colombia, 
and Panama, returning via Jamaica and New York; the Cuba and Mexico line from South- 
ampton to Havana, Vera Cruz, and Tampico; and the Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand 
line fortnightly from London and Plymouth, calling at Gibraltar, Marseilles, Naples, Port Said, 
and Colombo; moreover, “round the world” trips are arranged by various routes. Social 
life on board these steamers is particularly enjoyable. As the calm seas of the south Atlantic 
are conducive to general comfort and well-being, everyone feels disposed to take part in 
the various entertainments provided. Formerly it was the prevailing impression that only 
on the Oriental route were social customs observed de rigueur, but anyone who has made 
the trip from Europe to Brazil on a Royal Mail steamer must agree that the balls, concerts, 
bridge parties, tennis, etc., which make the voyage a round of pleasure, are occasions as 
distinguished for their social features as are those of the famous lines to India and Australia. 
The trip across the north Atlantic is dull and commonplace by comparison. The two weeks 
passed on board during a voyage from Southampton to Brazil are spent generally on a calm 
sea, under clear skies. 

Arrangements have been made between the Royal Mail and the Pacific Steam Navigation 
Company, whereby passengers to Chile or Peru, wishing to make part of the trip by the 


272 THE NEW BRAZIL 


Royal Mail service, may take the Pacific Company’s steamer at any port of call and continue 
the voyage to their destination. The Pacific steamers leave Liverpool fortnightly, calling at 
French, Spanish, and Portuguese ports and carrying passengers to Pernambuco, Bahia, Rio, 
Montevideo, and all the principal seaports of the west coast. In addition to this service, the 
company has a monthly service from Liverpool to Rio, calling only at Havre. A special train 
from Paris connects with the fortnightly steamer from La Rochelle. This company, like the 
Royal Mail, has greatly added to its fleet recently, four vessels on its transatlantic service being 
twin-screw steamers of ten thousand five hundred tons, while those for the Pacific coast trade 
alone register six thousand tons. The Hamburg-American has three separate routes: the 
North Brazil, Central Brazil, and South Brazil, and has just added new steamers of seven thou- 
sand tons register. The Lamport and Holt steamers make trips monthly between England and 
Brazil and fortnightly between New York and Brazil, this line having been the pioneer in the - 
South American trade. Anew steamer, the Voltaire, has been added to this service. The Booth 
and Red Cross lines have six steamers monthly to northern Brazil, three of their boats leaving 


BOA VISTA BRIDGE ON THE CENTRAL RAILWAY. 


Liverpool via Lisbon and Havre for Para, Mandos, Ceara, and Maranhdao, and returning to 
New York via the West Indies, while three start from New York for the Amazon, returning 


NATIONAL REVENUE, COMMERCE, AND TRANSPORTATION 573 


to Liverpool. The growing importance of Brazilian trade is nowhere more conspicuously 
evident than in the rapid increase of merchant vessels plying between its ports and those of 
Europe and North America. On 
an average, about twenty thou- 
sand ships of all nations visit 
the ports of Brazil annually. 
Besides the facilities exist- 
ing for foreign trade, Brazil has 
ample accommodation for com- 
merce between the home ports, 
its merchant marine ranking 
seventh among the nations. 
With a navigable system of 
waterways covering fifty thou- 
sand miles, the principal method 
of transportation between the 
various points of her immense 
territory is by steamer, though 
extensive railway facilities meet 
all requirements where a water- 
way is not available. The main 
artery of navigation in Brazil is 
the mighty Amazon, the first 
system having been established, 
in 1853, between Mandaos and 
Para, but it now extends up the 
river as far as the Peruvian 
border. A steamboat ascends OFFICES OF THE LLOYD BRAZILEIRO STEAMSHIP COMPANY, RIO DE JANEIRO. 
the Amazon in a fortnight, while 
a sailing vessel requires from three to four months going up and about two months 
returning. The principal ports along the river from Para are Santarem, Obydos, Manaos, 
and Teffé. The city of Manaos, the rapidly growing and prosperous capital of Amazonas, 
has had direct service with Liverpool since 1874, with New York since 1882, and with 
Rio de Janeiro since 1884. The main tributaries of the Amazon are navigable over a great 
part of their course. Vessels can ascend the Madeira as far as the falls of Santo Antonio,» 
and again beyond them to the interior of Matto Grosso, this being the popular means of 
communication with outside ports for western Matto Grosso and eastern Bolivia; the distance 
from Para to Matto Grosso over this route is about two thousand miles. The tributary Purus 
is navigable about a thousand miles, as far as the Acre. The Rio Negro carries vessels for 
three hundred miles, up to the town of Santa Izabel. The Tocantins, Xingu, and Tapajos 


374 THE NEW BRAZIL 


are navigable for hundreds of miles, interrupted, however, by cascades. Since September 
7, 1867, the Amazon has been open to merchant ships of all nations. The usual route for 
transportation from southeast Matto Grosso to outside ports is by the Paraguay River and its 
tributaries, navigation being uninterrupted from Buenos Aires to Cuyaba, the capital of Matto 
Grosso, a distance of about two thousand miles. In 1858 the river Paraguay was opened to 
foreign merchant ships. Steamers of the Lloyd Brasileiro Company run regularly between 
Rio de Janeiro and Corumba, in Matto Grosso, via Montevideo, Buenos Aires and the Para- 
guay River, and these connect at Corumba with smaller steamers for Cuyaba, the capital of 
the State of Matto Grosso. In addition to the New York and Rio line, and the line to Matto 
Grosso, the Lloyd Brasileiro Company has a first class service between Rio and Mandos, 
the capital of the State of Amazonas, a route extending more than three thousand miles, of 
which eight hundred miles is on the Amazon River. Another Brazilian line, the Navegacgdo 
Costeira, under the proprietorship of the Messrs. Lage Brothers, connects Rio de Janeiro 
with all southern Brazilian ports, including Santos, Paranagua (the seaport of Curytiba), 
Florianopolis, Rio Grande do Sul, and Porto Alegre. The boats of this line are very 
commodious, comfortable, and clean, having well-supplied tables, and officers thoroughly 
acquainted with the obligations of their position. The Iquitos Steamship Company, Limited, 
has a line of mail steamers making monthly trips from Liverpool to Iquitos, Peru, on the 
upper Amazon, and from New York to the same port, calling at Para and Manaos. They 
have eight steamers in the service, of which the Manco is the largest, with accommoda- 
tions for sixty first-class passengers. Besides the larger waterways, there are boats plying 
up and down all the smaller rivers and streams. 

For the purposes of overland traffic Brazil has in operation fifteen thousand miles of 
railway, while twenty thousand miles of new railway have been projected and half of it is 
already under construction. The railway mileage of Brazil signifies more labor and 
expense than is the case in ordinary railway building, as every line from the coast to 
the interior represents an engineering feat of extraordinary importance, due to the diffi- 
culties of crossing the Serra do Mar, or coast range of mountains. The first national railway, 
constructed by Brazilian enterprise and engineering skill, was the Central Railway of Brazil. 
In 1858, a section of railroad was opened from Rio de Janeiro to the town of Belem, about 
thirty miles; a few years later, the government bought it, and completed the work across 
the mountains of the Serra do Mar, giving the railroad the name “Dom Pedro II.,” by which 
it was known until rechristened under the republic the ‘Central Railway of Brazil.” The 
“Central,” as it is familiarly called, now connects the Federal capital with the chief cities 
of Sao Paulo and Minas Geraes, has a trackage of more than a thousand miles, extending 
to the heart of the richest gold mining region, is the most important railroad in Brazil, 
with the largest income and expenditure, and enjoys a monopoly of the terminal facilities 
at the port of Rio. It also controls most of the suburban traffic of the capital. The 
estimated cost of this system to the government was about one hundred and twenty-five 
thousand dollars, gold, per mile. It has three tracks for ten miles out of Rio, and a double 


NATIONAL REVENUE, COMMERCE, AND TRANSPORTATION is 


track three miles farther. Besides suburban trains every few minutes, seven trains a day run 
as far as the junction of the Sao Paulo and Minas divisions, two trains a day leave for the end 
of the Minas line, four trains daily reach Juiz de Fora and Barbacena, in the State of Minas, 
and there are two trains a day to and from Sao Paulo. The passenger coaches are modern in 
Style and very comfortable, the sleeping cars being fitted up with all necessary conveniences. 
The Grand Central Station in Rio is a handsome modern depot, metropolitan in appearance 
and complete in arrangement. Railroad fares are cheaper than in some other countries, but 
baggage is charged extra, except small hand-bags. The Federal government owns the Central 
railway, as well as other lines, of which a description is given in the chapters treating 


SALON OF THE ROYAL MAIL STEAMER ‘‘ ARAGUAYA.” 


of the industry and commerce of the various States. Notwithstanding the almost insur- 
mountable difficulties of construction, railroads now cross all the principal mountain ranges, 
the engineering work on some of the lines being most remarkable. The highest point of 
altitude reached by railway in this country is at Ouro Preto, in the State of Minas Geraes, 
five thousand feet above the sea. There are several imposing railway viaducts, notably the 
one crossing the Paraguassu between Cachoeira and Sdo Felix, in Bahia, and another, more 
than a mile long, where the coal mines of Tubardo, in Santa Catharina, are located. 
Complete telegraph and submarine cable systems connect the chief towns and cities of 
Brazil. The government telegraph lines have a total length of twelve thousand miles, with 


376 THE NEVE BRAZIL 


twenty-five thousand miles of 
wire. A submarine cable of 
about three thousand miles ex- 
tends from Para to Montevideo, 
another cable connecting Brazil 
with Europe via Cape Verde 
and Lisbon. 

By the proposed inaugura- 
tion of the new system of docks 
in the port of Rio, which is to 


take place with formal cere- 
TRANSPORTATION ON THE RIO NEGRO, STATE OF AMAZONAS. mony on the centennial anni- 


versary of the opening of the 
ports, the government of Brazil will remove the last material obstacle in the way of com- 
mercial development, thus solving a problem which King Dom Jodo VI. recognized, and 
which occupied the attention of the first emperor as early as 1828, though he was unable to 
Solve it except by the adoption of a system of transhipment in lighters and barges, such as 
have been employed for the purpose from that time to the present, but which will be 
unnecessary after the construction of the docks. A national exhibition of the industrial, 
pastoral, and art products will also be held in celebration of this centennial anniversary; the 
exhibition to open July 15, 1908, and close September 7th of the same year. The presence 
of the king of Portugal and other great personages from foreign lands will give such éclat to 
the event as its importance deserves, and serve still further to make it memorable in the 
annals of the country as the beginning of a new epoch in national development. 


THE JANGADA, PRIMITIVE TRANSPORTATION IN THE TROPICS. 


THE LIBRARY 


OF THE 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 


(ts 


z 
= 
A 


AMAZONAS THEATRE, MANAOS. 


CHAPTER XXIII 
AMAZONAS 


pete foreign commerce of Brazil owes its 
development chiefly to the industries 
derived from its two principal products, coffee 
and rubber; and as the former has made the 
“Imperial State” of Sdo Paulo one of the rich- 
est sections of the globe, so the latter has been 
the means of bringing world-wide renown as 
a treasure house of wealth to Amazonas, the 
great State of the Sea-River,—a name given to 
the mighty Amazon by the early discoverers, 
who were amazed at its vast expanse. 
Amazonas, the largest State of Brazil, 
covers a territory of eight hundred thousand 
Square miles, equal in area to all that part 
of the United States which lies east of the 
Mississippi River. It is situated in the heart 
of the equatorial region, extending from the 
fifth degree north latitude to the tenth de- 
gree south and from the fifty-fourth to the 
= seventy-seventh degree west longitude. It 
Sr GE OF LENREIRO: ARAN is bounded on the east by the State of Para, 
on the north by Venezuela and Guiana, on 
the west by Colombia and Peru, and on the south by Bolivia and the State of Matto Grosso. 
Unique in the character of its history and the apparent greatness of its destiny, the State of 
Amazonas has reversed the order of progress in other civilized countries of the globe, having 
been the favored haunt of the scientist and the scholar centuries before the commercial 
world awoke to a realization of its industrial possibilities. The record of its earlier days is 
379 


380 THE NEW BRAZIL 


filled with anecdotes of world-wide celebrities who visited its shores, buried themselves in 
its forests, and found it a terrestrial paradise. The little home where Agassiz spent many 
happy years is still pointed out 
among the chief attractions of the 
city of Mandaos; scholars whose 
names are honored in the proudest 
capitals of the world are remem- 
bered here with many familiar little 
incidents that marked their visit. 
While the plodding centres of Eu- 
rope have been busy with the 
problems of commerce, the gentle 
students of nature have found, 
over and over again, but without 
being able to convince their more 
“practical ’ “brethren, the= sichest 
country toward which the eager 
emissaries of .trade have ever set 
their faces. Humboldt said long 
azo, in respect to commerce, which 
successively crowded the ports of 
the Ganges, the Euphrates, and the 
Nile, that it would find on the Ama- 
zon the greatest wealth of all, de- 


COLONEL CONSTANTINO NERY, GOVERNOR OF AMAZONAS. claring eit is there that one day, 
sooner or later, will concentrate the 


civilization of the globe.” The first sign of this coming greatness appeared when steamships 
were employed to carry its products to foreign lands and when the mighty river was opened 
to free navigation; especially was the last act a boon to the country, well deserving of the 
commemoration it has received from the State by the recent erection of a handsome monu- 
ment in one of the prominent squares of the city of Mandos, the State capital. Everything 
favors a great future for Amazonas, which is rich in animal, vegetable, and mineral wealth, 
and accessible in every part of its vast territory by means of the most extensive waterway 
in the world. 

From an impetuous little mountain stream sixteen thousand feet above the sea, watering 
the Peruvian valley of Huantar between the Cordilleras of the Andes less than a hundred 
miles from Lima, the majestic Amazon broadens into a spacious river two thousand miles 
above its entrance to the sea, toward which, after leaving the Andes, it flows with leisurely 
movement, receiving tribute from left and right in the currents of innumerable affluents, and 
gradually widening throughout its course until it forms an estuary more than two hundred 


AMAZONAS 381 


miles wide at its mouth. This mighty and peerless river is the natural link between the 
Atlantic and the Pacific seaboards of the southern hemisphere; while through its tributaries, 
the Negro from Venezuela, the Madeira from Bolivia, the Jurua, Purts, and Javary from 
Peru, the Iga and Japura from Colombia, the Nap6o from Ecuador, the Tocantins from Goyaz, 
and the Tapajos from Matto Grosso, it affords the requisite means of transportation to 
develop the region through which it makes its stately progress to the sea as the most 
important commercial waterway of the western world. 

The Brazilians still call the Amazon the Rio-Mar, or “sea-river,” and the various 
explorers who have given accounts of its vast expanse and wonderful volume have 
referred to it as an inland sea, the Mediterranean of America, or similar titles indicative of its 
immensity. To the north, the basin of the Amazon is united with that of the Orinoco by 
the Cassiquiare River, which flows either into the Rio Negro or into the Orinoco according 
to the strength and direction of the tide; and to the south, in the State of Matto Grosso, the 
Amazon plain joins that of La Plata. With the construction of a few short canals, water 
communication would be uninterrupted from the Caribbean coast down through the heart 


PALACE OF JUSTICE, MANAOS. 


of the continent to the estuary of La Plata. The entire basin of this mighty river covers an 
area of seven million square kilometres, of which a part belongs to Peru, Ecuador, and 


382 THE NEW BRAZIL 


Bolivia. At its source, the river is named the Marajion; on the border of Brazil, it takes 
the name Solimées; and after its confluence with the Madeira, it becomes known as the 
Amazon. It is three thousand 
five hundred miles in length, 
and so level is its flow that 
throughout two-thirds of its 
course the channel slopes little 
more than two hundred feet. 
It is wider and deeper than 
any other river in the world. 
Although the surface is placid, 
showing little apparent current, 
the average depth is from 
seventy-five to one hundred 
and fifty feet, and in some 
places it has a depth of two 
hundred and fifty feet; the 
width varies from a mile and a 
half at Tabatinga, on the Peru- 
vian border of Brazil, to four 
miles at the mouth of the Ma- 
deira, and, again, to less than a 
mile as it passes the “narrows” 
at Obydos, though it is twelve 
miles wide below Santarem, 
where it receives the tributary 
Tapajos. According to gener- 
ally accepted authorities, the 
estuary of the Amazon encloses 
the island of Marajé, and has a 
total width of two hundred and fifty miles. Some authorities claim that the real mouth of 
the Amazon is north of Marajo Island, the river forming an archipelago just below the con- 
fluence of the Xingu, and emptying into the sea through three channels, which are not much 
used for navigation. A succession of narrow channels connects the main river with the 
Para estuary south of Marajé Island, the last of these, the Breves, being scarcely one hundred 
and fifty feet wide, and almost completely embowered in overhanging foliage. So great is 
the conflict between the current of the river at its mouth and the incoming tide of the ocean, 
that great billows ten to fifteen feet high surge in especially at the northern entrance, follow- 
ing each other with deafening noise, particularly during the time of the equinoctial gales, 
when the current is strongest; and this tide is perceptible in the river as far as Obydos, 


VESTIBULE OF THE PALACE OF JUSTICE, MANAOS. 


AMAZONAS 383 


about five hundred miles. Throughout the lower course of the river are innumerable 
channels forming islands close to the shore, which during the dry season are the favorite 
haunt of the beautiful herons and other birds native to this region; these low-lying lands 
are called varzeas, or “flood-plains,” and they disappear during the rainy season when the 
tides are high. The principal rise of the tide takes place in February on the Solimdes, in 
April on the Amazon proper, and in June on the Para. The level then falls until October, 
when a second rise of less importance begins, which lasts until January. These rises 
correspond with the rainy seasons of the regions watered by the great river and its tribu- 
taries, the equatorial rains of the northern latitude recurring at a different time of the year 
from those of the south. A learned professor very beautifully expresses it: “In this 
oceanic river the tidal action has an annual instead of a daily ebb and flow; it obeys a 
larger orb, and is ruled by the sun and not by the moon.” During the rainy season on the 
upper Amazon, the tide sometimes rises to a height of from forty to fifty feet, submerging 
the forests and converting a vast territory into an inland sea. The Amazon basin receives 
more rain during the year than any other region of the same extent on the globe, and the 
volume of water it carries to the ocean is estimated by Martius at the enormous quantity of 
two hundred and fifty million cubic meters per hour, the water of the great stream coloring 
the Atlantic for hundreds of miles from its mouth. The dull opaque yellow of the main 
current is tinged with various mixtures as it receives its immense tributaries, of which there 
are a dozen that extend each over a course of more than a thousand miles: the largest of 
these enter the river from the south, such-as the Tocantins, Xingu, and Tapajos, in the State 
of Para, and the Madeira, Purts, Jurua, and Javary, in Amazonas; the last four, which have 
an average length of 
sixteen hundred miles, 
watering a territory im- 
mensely rich in rubber 
trees. The Madeira is the 
greatest Southern tribu- 
tary, having a length of 
more than two thousand 
miles from its head- 
waters in Bolivia, one 
branch rising near the 
border of Chile and the 
other close to the Argen- 
tine boundary; it passes 
through a country rich PALACE OF THE GOVERNOR, MANAOS. 

in tubber, sand is the 

great natural highway of traffic between the interior and the North Atlantic seaboard; for 
about six hundred miles navigation is uninterrupted, then a succession of rapids obstructs it 


384 TOHERNEVSBRAZIL 


for about a hundred and fifty miles, after which there are no further obstacles to vessels 
going by this route to Bolivia and Matto Grosso. A railway is under construction to provide 


PENITENTIARY, MANAOS, 


overland transportation where the rapids cut off navigation of the river. The water of the 
Madeira is of a milky color, and at its junction with the Amazon it has a width of about two 
miles and a depth of seventy feet, making quite a perceptible change in the flow of the 
current where it enters the river, a few miles below the city of Manaos. The Purts is 
nearly as long as the Madeira, and is navigable to its source, a distance of about nineteen 
hundred miles; it is said to be the fabled Amarumayu, or “serpent river,” of the Incas. The 
Javary marks part of the boundary between Amazonas and Peru, and is about fourteen 
hundred miles long. Of the northern tributaries, the Rio Negro is the largest and most 
important, having a length of fifteen hundred miles and an average breadth of nearly two 
miles for the first half of its course, and of from ten to fifteen miles for the remainder, 
which is channelled with islands; the name of this river, which takes its rise in the moun- 
tains of Colombia, is singularly appropriate, the water having a rich dark chocolate color 
which is not changed even at the confluence of the Rio Branco, whose milk-white tide is 
quickly lost in the greater current. The water of the Rio Negro is light golden when placed 
in a white vessel, and has a delightfully satiny feeling that makes bathing in it an especial 
luxury and overcomes any prejudice against its color, which, though decided, does not inter- 
fere with its perfect transparency. This river constitutes the chief highway of commerce 


AMAZONAS 385 


between Brazil, Venezuela, and Guiana. The second in importance of the Amazon’s northern 
tributaries is the Japura, a thousand miles long, and, although the principal mouth is only 
three hundred feet wide, its delta connects it with the Amazon by a series of small channels 
for two hundred miles; it, also, rises in the mountains of Colombia, and passes through a 
territory rich in dyewoods, medicinal plants, cacao, castanha-nuts, and minerals. The Iga, 
another northern tributary of importance, is very rich in gold and other precious minerals. 
The principal tributaries that enter the Marafion division of the Amazon are the Ucayali, 
Huallaga, Pastassa, and Napd. There are numerous minor branches large enough to be 
considered of importance in any other river system, but they are lost by comparison with 
the immensity of contiguous rivals. It is almost impossible to gain, from a description or 
from figures, an adequate idea of this wonder of the natural world, which is just now begin- 
ning to awaken, universal interest in its unlimited possibilities, and to change the grim stare 
of incredulity into the clear sight of serious appreciation. 

There is no country on the globe that has a more promising outlook for commercial 
development than that of Amazonas. The climate is equable, and although the temperature 
is high, yet, owing to the constant evaporation due to the plentiful rains and the prevalent 
trade-winds, the actual heat is not so great as the latitude and the comparatively low land 


RUA MUNICIPAL, MANAOS. 


would lead one to suppose. Professor Agassiz was enthusiastic in his praises of the 
climate and the country, of which he wrote a friend: “I have the pleasure to repeat, in 


386 THE NEW BRAZIL 


spite of all that may be said to the contrary, that | know of no country in the world so full 
of attractions, more fertile, more salubrious, and more fitted to be the focus of an immense 
immigration than the magnificent valley of Amazonas.” 


THE CATHEDRAL, MANAOS. 


That part of the State which lies to the north of the Amazon is considerably higher and 
less marshy than the territory to the south; in the extreme north and west are mountainous 
regions, rich in mineral products, and on the banks of the Rio Branco, near its headwaters, 
are extensive grassy plains suitable for cattle raising. The southern half of the State is 
regarded as the more valuable commercially, as it is in this region that the famous rubber- 
trees which supply the markets of the world with their product are most abundant and of 
the best quality. The wealth represented by this valuable resource offers such alluring 
reward to the investor, that the people of the State have become absorbed in its develop- 
ment almost to the exclusion of other enterprises. And yet, although the revenue from 
this resource is enormous, as shown elsewhere, there are other products which, if given 
equal attention, would yield very handsome returns. The chief difficulty is found in 
securing sufficient labor to develop the country, the present population of Amazonas being 
scarcely half a million inhabitants, of whom more than a tenth are residents of the city of 
Manaos. Yet the inducements to immigrants, especially of the agricultural class, are excel- 
lent; the climate and soil favor the growth of every kind of cereal, and are remarkably well- 
adapted to the cultivation of rice, sugar, tobacco, beans, and similar products. The fertile region 


AMAZONAS 387 


of the Nile enjoys no greater natural advantages in the periodical overflow that serves the 
double purpose of irrigation and fertilization than does the vast alluvial plain of the Amazon, 
periodically inundated by floods which cover a large area with a vegetable deposit at regular 
intervals. The absence of droughts or of insect plagues, from which some of the best 
farming regions of the world suffer, is an additional blessing. 

But until the population increases materially it is not likely that the attention of the 
people will be diverted from the rubber trade and the commercial interests represented by 
various other natural products. Of these, the castanhas, or “Brazil nuts” are among the 
more important; in the Amazon country they are collected on much the same plan as that 
followed by the rubber-gatherer. The forest is marked out by paths, or estradas, which 
lead past three or four hundred trees, two men generally working a path together, and 
collecting on an average a thousand barrels a season, though the production varies greatly 
from year to year. Cacao grows wild in this State and promises to be one of its most 
valuable industries. The various hardwoods, dyewoods, and medicinal herbs are among 
its valuable productions, besides which it is rich.in tropical fruits, 

Birds, heron plumes, and orchids are found in abundance and of glorious beauty. The 
orchids of the Amazon region are of great attractiveness, especially the Sobralia, Stanhopea, 


THE GYMNASIUM, MANAOS. 


Renanthéra and similar varieties. In a small lake on a branch of the Rio Negro, below 
Mandos, the Victoria Regia is found in wonderful abundance. Only small canoes can 
ascend the stream to the spot where the royal lily grows in all its magnificence, the first 


388 THE NEW BRAZIL 


view showing a mirror-like surface, half a mile long and nearly as wide, literally sprinkled 
with huge green leaves, that lie flat on the water, the lilies standing out among them, like 


AVENIDA EDUARDO RIBEIRO, MANAOS. 


white stars with a pinkish centre, some fifteen inches in diameter. There is practically no 
limit to the wealth of Amazonas, and the remarkable advancement made within the past 
few years is, in some respects, unparalleled in the history of States. 

Although the State of Amazonas lies within the equatorial region, the soil and climate 
are suitable for the cultivation of semi-tropical products and, in the mountainous districts, 
those of the temperate zone. Vast tracts of land are covered with rich pasturage, and the 
conditions are favorable for raising sheep, cattle, and horses. In the extreme north of 
the State, on the frontier of Venezuela and British Guiana, and especially in the valleys 
of the upper Rio Branco, thousands of square miles are covered with pasturage of the 
richest kind, and on the slopes of the mountains of this region excellent farm lands are 
located, suitable for growing wheat, corn, and other products. Under the present adminis- 
tration, special attention is being given to these industries, and fine stock is imported from 
Argentina for breeding purposes. A railway is also projected to overcome the obstacle to 
transportation caused by the-Rio Branco falls, which impede navigation for a short distance 
between Mandaos and the northern frontier. When this railway is completed, some of the 
finest cattle ranges of Brazil will be brought within two days’ journey from Mandos. At 
present, the industry is in its infancy, though the Sao Marcos ranch, occupying fifty square 


AMAZONAS 389 


leagues or more, is well-stocked with fine herds. To stimulate agriculture and stock raising, 
the government pays a premium of two thousand milreis to farmers or stock raisers, on 
terms which encourage their special efforts toward developing these industries. The youth 
of the farming communities receive practical training in the Instituto Affonso Penna, which 
has a model farm and a stock breeding station connected with the school. 

Not only is the cattle industry most promising, but the government is doing all in its 
power to encourage the fisheries; for the Amazon abounds in fish and turtles. The péraruci, 
weighing from one hundred to two hundred pounds, is the silver king of these waters, and, 
like the famous tarpon of North America, it is caught with hook and line, harpooned, or shot 
with bow and arrow, though more valuable than the tarpon, which is hunted only for sport, 
and is not edible. The piraruct is a favorite dish with the Brazilians, being dried and shipped 
from Mandaos to all parts of the country. The courbina is a fish well known throughout 
Brazil, and it is found in great abundance in Amazonas. A curious feature of the courbina 
is its coarse, hard tongue, which, when dried, serves the purpose of a grater. The peixe-bol 
(cow-fish) resembles a gigantic cow, but has the fins and tail of an ungainly-looking fish; 
about five thousand species of this amphibious monster are found in the Amazon River, their 
sole habitat. The puraqué, or electric fish, is another curiosity of this river. 

A curious phenomenon of the Amazon country, is known to the natives as the “Frost 
of Saint John.” It occurs usually during the. last week of June, and is noticeable as 


SYLVERIO NERY SCHOOL, MANAOS. 


far down the river as Manaos, being ushered in with a rain-storm during which the 
thermometer drops to about fifteen degrees Fahrenheit, and the water of the Amazon is so 


390 THE NEW BRAZIL 


cold that the fish die by hundreds. According to one theory, this cold weather is due to 
the descent of large quantities of ice and snow from the Upper Andes, accompanied by high 
winds. During the few 
days that this frost con- 
tinues, the people wear 
overcoats and wraps, and 
among the poor there is 
great discomfort, as the 
change of from sixty to 
seventy degrees is so 
rapid that the effects are 
naturally very marked on 
the system, unprepared 
for such@aeshockassltsIs 
as keenly felt as a “bliz- 
zard”’ in colder climates. 
On the other hand, it 
Serves a good purpose in 
destroying the germs of 
fever, which cannot sur- 
vive such a lowering of 
the temperature. 
Navigation on the 
Amazon River was first 
established through the 
enterprise of a Brazilian, 
the Baron de Maua, who 
organized the Amazon 
Navigation Company in 
1852. The commerce of 
MONUMENT IN MANAOS COMMEMORATING THE OPENING OF NAVIGATION Has oo to-day Is ol 
ON THE AMAZON TO ALL NATIONS. ried in ships of all nations; 
three million tons of mer- 
chandise being brought down the river and its tributaries annually to the port of Mandaos. 
Hundreds of steamers, steam launches, barges, and sailing vessels ply up and down the 
Amazon constantly, and the immigration from other Brazilian States increases yearly. 
Immigrants from Italy and other countries of Southern Europe arrive in greater number 
every year, and find the opportunities excellent for farming and especially for fruit growing, 
in which the Italian secures particularly congenial employment. In the vicinity of the capital, 
Manaos, several truck farms have been cultivated with success, and the poultry is of an 


AMAZONAS 391 


excellent quality. As the needs of a rapidly growing city become more imperative, the 
various enterprises branch out on a larger scale. 

Manaos, situated on the left bank of the Rio Negro, eight miles from the Amazon and a 
thousand miles from the Atlantic coast, is a conspicuous example of the rapid progress of 
Amazonas. It is the social, educational, political, and commercial centre of the State, and in 
appearance is one of the most attractive of cities. Its streets are broad and well paved, the 
principal ones with asphalt blocks, and the others with granite cubes. It is lighted with 
electricity, and hundreds of private houses have installations. Five hundred and twenty- 
Seven arc lights, of two thousand candle-power each, illuminate the public thoroughfares. 
An excellent system of waterworks is in use, the property of the government, ten million 
litres being supplied daily. The principal streets are traversed by an electric street railway, 
fifteen miles in extent, having a loop line that runs around the city through the picturesque 
suburbs of Cachoeirinha, Flores, and other resorts, along the road to which the car passes 
through beautiful arbors of green, dense thickets of the richest tropical foliage, and avenues 
of magnificent palms, and over two handsome iron bridges that cross the river on the 


PUBLIC ARCHIVES AND LIBRARY MANAOS. 


outskirts of the city, offering the most attractive of sylvan scenes. This railway is as 
thoroughly equipped as any trolley road in South America, the cars being of modern style 


392 THE NEW BRAZIL 


and construction, the power house and car sheds of steel structure, and the entire system 
a credit in every way to the progress of the community. 

Within the past few years the city has grown greatly in population, and the number of 
handsome public buildings and private residences has notably increased. Some cf the State 
buildings, erected at a cost of millions of 
dollars, are unsurpassed in size and attractive- 
ness by any other government buildings of 
the country. The Palace of Justice, situated 
on one of the main avenues, is a stately edi- 
fice of white marble representing an enor- 
mous expenditure. The Theatro Amazonas 
is one of the handsomest in America; it was 
built at a cost of two million dollars gold, and 
is a particularly striking evidence of the great 
Shane material prosperity of the State and the capi- 
a: tal. Occupying a commanding site on the 
Avenida Eduardo kibeiro, it is one of the 
most conspicuous features of the landscape 
as viewed from the harbor, when the sun 
gilds its magnificent dome, lighting up the 
national colors which are worked into the 
ornamental tiles that cover it like a bandeira. 
The theatre is built of stone, the entrances and 
the supporting pillars are finished in Italian 
marble, and the interior is decorated in the 

MONUMENT OF BARON SANTA ANNA NERY. richest fashion, the allegorical paintings that 
ornament the ceilings of the foyer and the 
auditorium being the work of the celebrated Italian artist De Angelis. The various churches 
of the city are built principally in the Jesuit style of architecture. The educational institu- 
tions, most of which have spacious and modern buildings, are equipped with the latest 
conveniences for school purposes, especially the Gymnasio, a capacious stone edifice with 
marble portico and finishings, which has large recitation halls, gymnasium, and other 
desirable features; and the Benjamin Constant Institute for girls. The public library con- 
tains about ten thousand volumes in Portuguese, French, and English. The museum is 
particularly interesting for its varied collection of Amazonian curiosities, in the form of 
Indian weapons, Indian musical instruments made of beetles’ wings, animals’ teeth, etc., 
and countless antiquarian specimens. The public market is one of the substantial buildings 
in the shopping district; it is spacious, cool, and well-ventilated, a prime necessity in 
this climate. A favorite resort in the evenings is the Jardim Publico, where an orchestra 
furnishes music from six o’clock until midnight. 


AMAZONAS 393 


Public order is maintained by an efficient police department, having its headquarters in 
a large two-story building overlooking the Praga Constituigao. The first floor is divided 
into living-rooms for the police companies, storerooms for weapons, etc., and on the second 
floor are fencing halls, library, officers’ apartments, etc. The State penitentiary is a spacious 
new building erected during the present administration, and covers an area of fifteen 
thousand square metres. In its modern arrangement and appointments it is one of many 
proofs of the progressive spirit in enterprise and social affairs that prevails in every depart- 
ment of the public service. The State militia is a particularly creditable organization. It is 
composed of two battalions of infantry of five hundred men each, commanded by majors of 
the regular army, and a cavalry corps of forty men. The military bands belonging to these 
battalions are noted for their excellent training and talent. 

Life in Mandos is not so subject to unfavorable climatic conditions as might be supposed. 
Though an equatorial city, it is a desirable place of residence. The citizens enjoy many 
luxuries; electric fans are installed in all public offices as well as in private homes, and the 
supply of ice is practically unlimited, there being several establishments for its manufacture. 
Boating and bathing are enjoyable pastimes, and the city is well provided with carriages 
for the evening passeio, and with good horses for those who like equestrian exercises. 
The press is well repre- 
sented, and there are 
half a dozen wide-awake 
dailies in charge of active 
and well-informed jour- 
nalists; the newsboys 
are as progressive as any 
of their metropolitan con- 
fréres, and have all the 
airs of the London or 
Paris newspaper vendor 
of tender years and wide 
experience. There are 
Several factories and 
machine shops which 
are constantly increas- 
ing the number of em- 
ployees in proportion to BENJAMIN CONSTANT INSTITUTE, MANAOS. 
their growing business. 

The capital is remarkably free from sickness: fevers occur only in a sporadic form, and 
the usual complaints of a hot climate are not common. Ina great measure this healthfulness 
is due to careful attention on the part of the government, which has provided a good system 
of drainage, as well as a garbage crematory of modern manufacture, a valuable agency in 


394 THE NEW BRAZIL 


disposing of the city’s rubbish. By a decree of November 12, 1906, the sanitary system of 
the capital was reorganized, the service being divided into three sections; the general board, 
the section of analysis and bacteriology, and that of disinfection and isolation. Two hos- 
pitals have been imported from New York and set up in the most convenient locality for 
their purpose. 

There is no branch of public improvement in which the activity of the government is 
not shown with conspicuous results. The port works of Mandos have been completed 
recently, adding enormously to the facilities for commercial interchange, and placing this 
port among the best equipped in South America for the handling of merchandise. The 
contract for the improvements was made with the Manaos Harbor Company, Limited, an 


LANDING FLOAT, MANAOS HARBOR. 


English concern, and the docks were planned and practically constructed under the direc- 
tion of Dr. A. de Lavandeyra, a Cuban engineer. The work was inaugurated in August, 
1902, and within less than ten months the company had built a power house having two 
Corliss engines and electric power for running three Lidgerwood cableways, and had 
constructed six iron warehouses covering an area of six thousand square metres, with a 
platform in front of them, over the river, three thousand square metres in area, all built of 
pine logs imported from the United States; a floating pontoon had also been built capable 
of taking alongside two ocean steamers; it lies in front of the platform, four hundred feet 
distant, and on it are three towers, corresponding to three on the platform, connected 
by Lidgerwood cableways; the capacity for unloading and carrying merchandise from 
steamers to the warehouses is at the rate of six tons in two minutes. An additional ware- 
house covering about a thousand square metres was completed, and in May, 1903, the 


AMAZONAS ; 395 


company began to take charge of the traffic of the harbor of Mandos. Since that time, new 
warehouses have been added, and a floating roadway has been built, extending from the 
recess in the key wall out into the river; this roadway rises and falls with the river, the level 
of which varies fifteen metres between the rainy and the dry seasons. At the end of the 
roadway is another large pontoon with two warehouses, passengers’ waiting room and 
baggage room; this pontoon will support one thousand tons and accommodates two ocean 
steamers alongside. 

While the commerce of the State is benefited by the new port works, the sanitation of 
the capital is guaranteed through the government’s far-seeing policy in placing the contract 
for the perfection of the waterworks and drainage systems in the hands of experienced 
engineers. The Manaos Improvements Company, Limited, has charge of this important 


MILITARY QUARTEL, MANAOS, 


enterprise. In May, 1906, the work of sanitation was begun, and it has progressed with 
remarkable rapidity, the State facilitating the efforts of the company in every detail. 

Colonel Antonio Constantino Nery, governor of Amazonas, belongs to one of the most 
noted families of Brazil, a family whose name is prominent in statecraft and letters. His 
own career has been one of eminent service to his beloved country, as deputy, senator, and 
governor. In accepting the chief executive office of his State, Dr. Constantino Nery succeeded 
his brother, Dr. Sylverio Nery. One of the names most highly esteemed in the literary 
circles of Brazil is that of Baron Santa Anna Nery, another brother of the governor, who died 
a few years ago in Paris, in the midst of a career of unusual promise and brilliancy. 

Governor Constantino Nery is held in high esteem, not only for his superior mental 
gifts, but also because, in the exercise of his authority as ruler of the State, he constantly 


396 


THE NEW BRAZIL 


demonstrates that it is his purpose to promote the happiness of his people in every way. 
During his administration, the number of schools has increased and in some sections the 


DR. MANOEL F. SA ANTUNES, 
SECRETARY OF STATE, AMAZONAS. 


average attendance is double what it was a few years 
ago. Inthe capital, the new Constantino Nery School, 
the Sylverio Nery groups, and others, have been added 
to the institutions of instruction, with gratifying results. 
The governor has ordered the construction of several 
school buildings in the interior of the State, Humayta, . 
Manicoré, and Parintins being among the towns 
Selected for the location of new school groups. As 
may be seen from the illustrations of this chapter,— 
made from photographs by the artist and traveller, 
Mr. George Huebner, who has a most interesting col- 
lection of Amazon views,—the school buildings of 
Manaos are among the handsomest and most sub- 
stantial in the republic. 

It is very instructive to compare the wealth of 
this great State to-day, represented by a revenue 
of more than five million dollars gold, annually, with 
the amount of its income half a century ago, when the 
founder of the province and its first President, Tenreiro 


Aranha, announced that the annual receipts did not exceed one thousand dollars. The 
following chapter on the Acre and other sections of the rubber country will afford an 
idea of the circumstances which have combined to make this State one of the richest 


regions of the globe. 


PATIO OF THE AFFONSO PENNA INSTITUTE, MANAOS. 


CHAPTER XAIV 
THE ACRE TERRITORY AND THE RUBBER INDUSTRY 


Te richest rubber-producing region of Brazil 

derives its name from a small tributary of 
the Purus, one of the Amazon’s great southern 
affluents. The Acre River (pronounced Ack’-ray) 
has long been celebrated for the vast quantity 
and superior quality of rubber collected from 
the trees along its course, and the region 
drained by this river has gradually come to be 
known as “the Acre,” a synonym for rich rub- 
ber lands. The Acre territory occupies that 
part of the national domain lying between the 
upper Madeira and the Peruvian border which 
is formed by a triangle having its apex at the 
source of the Javary and its base on the 
boundary line between Brazil and Bolivia, from 
the Peruvian boundary, near the source of the 
Acre River, northeastward to the confluence of 
the Madeira and the Abuna rivers, as defined in the Treaty of Petropolis. The three 
departamentos into which the Acre is divided, viz., the Alto Acre, Alto Purtis, and Alto Jurua, 
are all enormously productive regions. Alto Acre includes the district drained by the 
Abuna, Rapirran, Iquiry, Aquiry or Acre, and Alto-Antimary rivers, all flowing through 
forests where rubber trees abound. Along their course are to be seen the establishments 
of the various companies engaged in the rubber trade, and also the huts of the rubber 
gatherers. Here and there at intervals are the headquarters of various missions established 
by the Catholic Church for the purpose of civilizing the Indians of these regions. Every- 
where, little rafts, gatolas and rowboats are navigating the rivers and streams, carrying 


merchandise between ports. The forest is gay with the brilliant plumage of macaws, 
307 


HUT OF A SERINGUEIRO, ACRE. 


398 THEPNEMASBRAZIE 


toucans, and other birds of the tropics. The climate varies, being more healthful near the 
headwaters of the various rivers, which all take their rise in the foothills of the Andes. 
The low lands, where the humidity is very great, are subject to conditions that make malaria 
a prevalent malady. 

The Departamento of Alto Purus comprises the tract lying northwest of Alto Acre which 
is watered by the Yaco and the Purts, with the tributaries of the latter, including the 
Chandless, the Curanja, and the Curinja. This region has been comparatively well- 
explored, all the great naturalists who have studied the flora and fauna of Amazonas having 
visited the upper Purus. The descriptions given by these travellers vary chiefly according 
to the time of year in which they made their explorations and the locality where their stay 
was most prolonged. In some sections along the margin of the Purus the mosquitoes 
assail the traveller in battalions and their attacks are most venomous; while, in more 
favored parts, there are few insects and the climate is altogether agreeable. Alto Jurua, 
the name given to that section of the Acre which is drained by the Jurua River and its 
affluents, extends to the western limit of Brazilian territory, and is noted for its delightful 
climate, with the exception of those tracts of land which lie in the lower levels, along 
the main stream. There are few cases of malarial fevers, and these of a mild nature, the 
general condition being healthful and pleasant. 

The aspect of the rubber country is quite unlike that of any other region. There is 
little to indicate that it is the centre of an industry of world-wide importance as one ascends 
the river in one of the small steamers that call at the different barracdes, or rubber establish- 
ments, that are built on the river bank, and constitute the chief settlements in these remote 
forests. The manager usually lives in a comfortable and often spacious house built of wood, 
sometimes two stories in height, roofed with zinc or a thatch of Pachiuba leaves, the rubber 
gatherer being content with a less pretentious abode of light framework covered with palm 
leaves. The scenery of this tropical region is, as a rule, limited to a view of the river banks, 
the forest reaching to the water’s edge in a dense and tangled maze of intertwining branches 
and vines, riotous in profusion and of wonderful size. Nature, indolent and drowsy, seems 
to breathe only in the faintest zephyrs, hardly stirring the embowered forest and never 
bringing a ripple to the surface of the silent streams. Monkeys chatter in the trees and parrots 
Scream their piercing notes, but their noise soon becomes so familiar to the ear as to make 
no impression in the midst of the prevailing stillness that overpowers by its enveloping spell. 

Since the Acre territory became a part of Brazil, the government has devoted especial 
attention to its development, and not only has the question of its industrial possibilities 
occupied the administration, but plans have been adopted for the improvement of social 
conditions by the establishment of schools, churches, etc. Each of the three departamentos 
is governed by a prefect, who is appointed by the President of the republic, and whose 
duty it is to supervise the affairs of his district in all branches of the public service. 

Although the soil and climate of the Acre are adapted to agriculture, at least in a large 
part of the territory, yet it is from the rubber trees that its entire revenue is derived and will 


Ti EPA belek) LORY eH NOSTHECRUBBERTINDUS ERY 399 


continue to be, at least until immigration peoples this section with farming communities. 
The history of the development of the rubber trade is interesting and of comparatively 
recent origin. 

Not until 1736, when the famous scientist La Condamine introduced rubber into 
Europe, was this product of the Amazon forest known to the civilized world, and about 


MANAOS, FROM CONSTANTINOPOLIS. 


thirty years later it was first put into practical use by one of the great artists of England. 
For half a century its sphere of usefulness was limited to the erasure of pencil-marks, from 
which it took the name “rubber”; until the celebrated invention of Mackintosh marked 
the beginning of a new era in its history, which Goodyear’s discovery of the vulcanizing 
process, in 1843, has since made one of unlimited importance. It may now be regarded as 
of universal necessity, and indispensable to the comfort of millions of people, so quickly 
and to so many purposes have its advantages been applied in the course of modern inven- 
tion. A failure of the rubber crop would be one of the greatest disasters that could overtake 
the commercial world, and yet, only half a century ago, rubber was counted among the 
luxuries, outside of Brazil. Long before the civilized people of Europe and America knew 
anything of the uses of rubber, especially of its water-tight properties, the Amazon Indians 
employed-it to make bottles and other vessels for holding liquids, as the names seringa and 
borracha, by which rubber is called in the Amazon country, indicate; though borracha, 
meaning a bottle, is said also to refer to the shape in which it is exported. The rubber 


400 THE NEW BRAZIL 


trees are known to the natives as seringueiras, and rubber gatherers are popularly called 
seringuciros. The botanical name Hevea gutanensis was given to the plant, in 1775, by the 
French scientist Aublet, who studied it in Guiana, reporting that the natives there knew 
it by the name /évé, the Indians of other sections calling it ser¢nga and caout-chouc. 
About the beginning of the nineteenth century, the English and German botanists gave 
the name siphonia to the rubber trees of Para, though the present botanical appellation is 
Hevea brasiliensis. 

In general appearance, the rubber tree of the Amazon forest is altogether different from 
the Ficus elastica of India, with its glossy dark-green leaves, and resembles rather the 
European ash in both bark and foliage. It grows to a height ranging from fifty to a 
hundred feet, and has an average girth, at a metre above the ground, of about five feet, 
the trunk being free from branches for almost half its height. The blossoming season is 
August, and in December and January the seeds ripen and fall, earlier in the case of old 
than of young trees. The seeds grow, sometimes three or four together, in a hard shell 


STEAM LAUNCHES IN THE ALTO PURUS, ACRE. 


that hangs by a short stalk from the upper and outer branches and explodes with a loud 
noise when ripe, scattering its contents in all directions. Of the many varieties of the 


TO EeACKER ER LOmeAaNOD THE KUBBER INDUSTRY 401 


seringuetra, the most valuable to commerce is known in rubber districts as casca preta 
[black bark], and grows in those forests that are neither permanently flooded nor yet on 


RUBBER GATHERERS IN THE AMAZON COUNTRY. 


high land, but where a great amount of atmospheric moisture exists, as along the rain-drenched 
banks of the Amazon tributaries, especially in the south, where are found the richest rubber- 
producing regions at present Known. On the river Acre the trees are so prolific that one 
hundred of them will furnish as much as a ton of rubber per annum. North of the 
Amazon, the Rio Negro and Rio Branco tributaries yield a considerable quantity. Brazilian 
territory at present known to produce rubber covers over a million square miles, and it 
is believed that further exploration will prove this estimate to be far below the actual 
area. With such an extensive field to draw from, it is not likely that much will be 
done for some time toward planting and cultivating rubber, particularly as the tree requires 
from fifteen to twenty years to reach maturity, which is a long time for capital to lie idle; 
although companies have already been formed with such a project in view. In its wild 
state the rubber tree grows among other trees of the forest promiscuously, not in clusters 
or groves of its own. One of its peculiarities is that it will not grow satisfactorily on 
cleared and open ground, as it requires the shade of other trees and the still air from the 


402 THE NEW BRAZIL 


time its growth begins until it is an adult tree. Not only is the quality of the milk affected 
by a lack of these advantages, but the tree itself has been known to die soon after a clearing 
of the ground around it. 

The milk of the rubber tree, or, as it is scientifically known, the Jatex, is quite different 
from the sap, and is only of nutritive value when used as a reserve of water in cases of 
drought, its extraction not being in any way harmful to the life of the tree, as is sometimes 
reported. If allowed to rest a few years, even a completely exhausted tree will recover 
itself, and instances are known where trees that have been tapped at intervals for fifty 
years still yield an abundance of milk. The rubber is collected in the dry season, between 
July and January, the processes of extraction and curing being particularly interesting 
because of their very primitive character. The “tapping” of the tree marks the beginning 
of the seringueiro’s work. Having built his little hut and equipped himself with the neces- 
sary utensils, consisting of an axe, a knife, cups, clay, and a calabash, he starts out for 
the rubber tree, sometimes cutting his way through dense undergrowth and again sinking 
knee-deep in mud or up to his waist in water. Arrived at his destination, he attaches the 
cup to the tree, and with his axe makes a gash in the bark, being careful not to penetrate 
the wood. The axe used for this purpose is very small, less than an inch wide, and wedge- 
shaped in order to prevent its making too deep a cut in the tree; usually an upward blow is 
given, making an oblique incision about six feet above the base of the trunk. This operation 
is repeated at intervals of about a foot in a line all round the tree until five or six cups have 
been placed, into which the milk flows slowly. The next day a row of incisions is made 
just below the first, and so on day by day until the ground is reached, when the same pro- 
gramme is begun again, this time between the former rows. A good tree will yield to a 
height of twenty feet or more. Each day an experienced seringueiro can tap aS many as a 
hundred trees, provided they are comparatively close together. Some gatherers tap in the 
morning and return to collect the milk in the evening, while others tap in the evening 
and collect in the morning. An expert collector will gather as much as seven pounds of 
rubber a day in the lower Amazon region, but about three times that amount in the richest 
districts of the upper Amazon. Rubber trees differ greatly in their yielding capacity, some 
being very quickly exhausted, while others continue to produce for many years; from some 
the daily yield is much greater than from others, and some do not yield to their full capacity 
when first tapped. A systematic division of labor is made on all the great rubber estates 
by which each collector has his hut and utensils provided anda given territory to work, the 
trees being connected by paths, or estradas, which pass a hundred heveas or more, forming 
a loop that takes the collector back to his starting point when his allotted share of the day’s 
tapping is finished. As the Jafex exudes from the tree, it resembles milk both in color and 
consistency, the caoutchouc corresponding to the butter properties in milk; the fluid part of 
it consists of water with very small quantities of albuminous matter, organic acids, and 
phosphates in solution. The seringueiro usually begins tapping about daybreak, after a cup 
of coffee, which serves his needs until nine or ten o’clock, when this part of his work is 


Po ea Chea rErRhi LOR YeAaND eLHE RUBBER INDUSTRY 403 


done and he is ready for breakfast. After breakfast, he returns to his estrada, taking with 
him a bucket into which he empties the cups from each tree, getting back again to his hut 
about noon or a little later, when he proceeds to prepare his day’s collection for the market 
by a process of evaporation which, though primitive, has been proved to be the best and 
least expensive yet discovered for freeing the rubber from those elements that, if allowed to 
remain, would cause putrefaction and destroy its elastic properties, making it worthless as 
an article of commerce. If the /afex is left standing over night even, it loses some of its 
value by fermentation and has to be sold as second-class, so that it is a regular part of the 


CUTTING AND CLASSIFYING RUBBER FOR EXPORT FROM MANAOS. 


day’s work to smoke the rubber each day as it is collected. A fire is built of palm nuts, 
the urucuri being the best for the purpose, though if the nuts are not obtainable ordinary 
wood chips are made to serve instead; a funnel-shaped chimney is then placed over the 
fire, through which the hot smoke rises in a dense column, and the operator, seating himself 
beside a bucketful of the /atex, pours some of it over a paddle-shaped stick which he then 
holds in the smoke, turning it round and round until it dries, repeating the operation until 
a large baJl has been formed. Sometimes a pivot is arranged and a rotary motion secured 
which does faster work than the operator in smoking the balls; but the paddle-smoked 
rubber is preferred because it is usually more thoroughly dried and cured, although this 


404 THE NEW BRAZIL 


method is very injurious to the eyes, total blindness being known to result from it in 
some cases. An expert man will be able to work two estradas a day, having four estradas 
in his territory which he works on alternate days; it is said that such a workman can collect 
as much as a ton of rubber a year. The season for collecting rubber lasts only about five 
or six months at the longest, though during the intervening months employment may be 
secured in gathering brazil nuts, sarsaparilla, and other products of the forest, that are 
marketed during this time. Most of these laborers, however, spend in the winter what 
they make in the summer. It is not an uncommon sight on the steamers plying up 
and down the Amazon to find a seringueiro transformed after a few months’ work into 
“a gentleman of means,” though half a year later will usually find him again penniless 
on his way to the rubber camp, so improvident are these hard-working children of the 
forest. No doubt the irresistible attractions of the city, long denied, prove too much even 
for the stoutest purse, and, like their seafaring brethren after a long absence from port, 
they fall easy victims to the sharpers who are constantly on the lookout for such prey, and 
part with their hard-earned money before appreciating the value of “ Poor Richard’s” warning 
against paying too dearly for their whistle. On the other hand, instances are related of 
poor laborers going into the rubber district without a penny and earning enough in the 
course of time to enable them to purchase property and establish themselves in business. 
So much depends upon the man in any sphere of life. The demand for labor is so far 
in excess of the supply in these regions, that the proprietors of large estates find great 
difficulty in filling the requirements of the markets. 

There are usually three distinct qualities of rubber sold to commerce: the fine, which — 
has been thoroughly dried and smoked and is free from putrefaction; the medium, or entre- 
fine, which has either been burnt during the smoking process or has been insufficiently 
smoked and in consequence has putrefied; and the sernambi, which consists of scraps 
mixed with peelings from the bark of the tree and miscellaneous sorts. The raw rubber is 
subject to a loss of weight during its transportation that is frequently a source of annoyance 
to shippers. This loss is so variable that no exact figures can be made a reliable basis of 
calculation, and unless the consignor and consignee have perfect faith in each other’s integ- 
rity, there is often occasion for doubt regarding the actual weight of the shipment, which 
is sure to be different from the invoiced statement of the amount as it left the shipper’s 
hands. Rubber that is kept in the camps in remote sections and shipped only once a year 
loses but about a tenth of the weight that is lost by newly-made rubber shipped as soon as 
cured. Three or foyr per cent is quoted as the average loss in shipments from Mandaos to 
foreign ports. Some of the best qualities do not show so great a reduction, while there are 
inferior kinds of rubber that double that percentage of lost weight in transit. 

Brazil practically controls the rubber trade of the world, reaping a revenue from this 
source that reaches an average of fifty million dollars a year. The States of Amazonas and 
Para are the great rubber-producing regions, and their supply is practically inexhaustible, 
though the scarcity of labor limits the amount exported, so that as the demand increases the 


TOE ACREe TERRITORY SAND |] HECRUBBER INDUSTRY: 405 


price is raised, being nearly double to-day what it was twenty years ago, notwithstanding 
that the supply has increased enormously within that time, so great is the universal call for 
“more rubber.” 

The amount of rubber exported by the State of Amazonas during the year 1906 was 
nineteen thousand tons, or about one-third of the world’s total supply. The State govern- 
ment encourages the industry by awarding premiums for the best quality of rubber, and for 
the best process of curing the /atex. The purpose of this plan is to promote experiments 
which may result in the discovery of a better system for the treatment of the product than 
that which is used at present. The largest shipments of rubber are from the Acre, Purus, 


THE SAO VICENTE. 


Jurua, and Madeira Rivers. The Jurua, though comparatively a recent fiéld of exploitation, 
yields more than three thousand tons annually, the amount being still larger from the Acre 
and the Purts rivers. The entire exports of rubber from the Amazon countries for 1906 
amounted to forty-three thousand tons, of which three thousand passed through the port 
of Iquitos, and twenty-one thousand through the port of Para, in addition to the shipments 
through the port of Mandaos as previously stated. 

The outlook for the Amazon country has never been so promising as it is at the present 
time. The Acre territory with its great wealth of rubber and the possibilities that exist for 
its development as one of the richest provinces of Brazil agriculturally, make one more dis- 
posed than ever to credit the judgment of the men of science who have pronounced this 


406 THE NEW BRAZIL 


the garden spot of the tropics. As to the general climate of the State, the English naturalist 
Wallace, says: “During my residence in the Amazon country, the thermometer never rose 
above eighty-seven degrees Fahrenheit at midday and never went lower than seventy- 
four degrees at night;” and the explorer Herbert Smith writes: “1 travelled through the 
Amazon country for four years and never had a fever, but I caught one in Ohio, where I 
remained less than a month.” Present prospects indicate that the next decade will see 
marvellous progress in the valley of the Amazon, and especially in that part of it which has 
been least explored. 

Rubber has been called the “Cinderella of civilization;” crowded into obscurity by her 
more gaily decked sisters of the forest, she eclipses them all in real worth, the fairy Prince 
of Commerce seeking in vain elsewhere for a queen so admirably fitted to wear the crystal 
emblem of universal travel and unique destiny. 


TRANSPORTING RUBBER FROM THE ACRE. 


THE LIBRARY 
OF THE 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 


‘VuVd “OONVUE-OlN AG ACGNOOSIA VOVUd 


mah | 


‘ 


HLELLELIIDE 


CHAPTER XXV 


PARA 


\ X J HATEVER fruits in different climes are found, 
That proudly rise or humbly court the ground,—- 
Whatever blooms in torrid tracts appear, 

Whose bright succession decks the varied year,— 

Whatever sweets salute the northern sky 

With vernal lives that blossom but to die,— 

These here disporting own their kindred soil, 

Nor ask luxuriance from the planter’s toil: 

While sea-born gales their gelid wings expand, 

To winnow fragrance round the smiling land. 
GOLDSMITH: The Traveller. 


In the heart of a rich territory, unsur- 
passed in the variety and abundance of its 
resources, watered by that great inland sea, 
the Amazon, and nurtured under the sunniest 
of skies, Para possesses everything that 
nature can bestow to make it a land of hap- 
piness and prosperity. The State is the third 
largest of Brazil, being exceeded in extent 
only by Amazonas and Matto Grosso; it 

Pe eee rar cononicn bine covers more than a million square kilometres, 
or a territory sufficient to accommodate more 
than half the population of Europe. By the recent settlement of the Guiana boundary 
question, the area of the State has been greatly increased. It is bounded on the north by 
the Atlantic Ocean, being separated from the Guianas by the Oyapoc River, the Serra do 
Tumuc-Humac, and the Serra do Acarahy; on the east by the States of Maranhdo and 
Goyaz; on the south by Matto Grosso, and on the west by Amazonas. In the southeastern 
part of the State are the highlands belonging to the great central. tableland of Brazil; here 
the climate is temperate, and only in the low and marshy lands is there great heat and 
409 


410 THE NEW BRAZIL 


humidity. According to Humboldt, the climate is ‘more equable than that of any other ob- 
served part of the New World.” The temperature varies but little from twenty-five degrees 
centigrade; the trade-winds and 
the rains cool the atmosphere, 
making the nights very pleasant 
all the year round. 

The forest wealth of this 
region iS enormous; but its 
present development, already a 
most significant factor in world- 
commerce, is merely a trifle of 
its potential value. And who 
shall fitly describe the Brazilian 
forest? No language could be 
deemed extravagant in extol- 
ling its splendor—the magnifi- 
cent woods, venerable trees, saplings, vines, parasites, orchids, and ferns—from the tiny 
spire of grass to the giant branching monarch—are here grouped, massed, and interwoven 
in a bewildering picture of beauty that is almost without parallel! The latest claim of 
this region to universal attention was established a few years ago when the increasing 
commercial value of Para rubber made this portion of the vast Brazilian territory a great 
emporium of.trade, sought by eager purchasers from all parts of the world. The State 
of Para was among the last to receive the attention of the Portuguese government, 
which permitted the French to establish settlements in all the northern ports until about 
the year 1615, when Alexandre de Moura was sent to govern this territory. He drove 
out the French from Maranhdo, at the same time sending Castello Branco as commander- 
in-chief of the government forces to Para, where he was successful in gaining posses- 
sion of the forts, and soon afterward laid the foundation of the present capital city of 
the State, which is familiarly called Belém, or Para, though the correct title is Santa Maria 
de Nazareth de Belém do Grado Para, in honor of the patron saint, Our Lady of Nazareth. 
Following Castello Branco, the most notable of the early governors was Pedro Teixeira, to 
whom belongs the great honor of extending the limits of Portuguese possessions in Brazil 
to the river Nap6, one of the remote tributaries of the Amazon, and also the distinction of 
giving to science the first geographical map of the Amazon region, with scientific notes 
of the great river. His voyage, begun in 1637, lasted two years, and after the return of the 
expedition Teixeira took charge of the government, in 1640. Expeditions up the Amazon 
during the eighteenth century brought many scientific celebrities to Para, and their writings 
are filled with enthusiastic praise of this wonderful country. La Condamine, who made 
the voyage in 1741, returned to his native land and wrote important scientific works 
concerning this region, giving to Europe the first information regarding its most important 


BOULEVARD DA REPUBLICA, PARA. 


PARA Atl 


natural products, including rubber. Gaspar de Lima discovered quinine in the country 
about this time, and gold was found in the Tapajos River; Jodo de Azevedo explored the 
Tapajos River from Matto Grosso, thus establishing communication between the two States. 
A few years later, under the administration of Governor Mendonca Furtado, who was a 
brother of the Marquis de Pombal, a system of military colonization was introduced, and 
the military settlements Araguaya and Araguary were established. The handsome palace 
of the governor, among the finest of the public buildings in Brazil, was constructed from the 
design of the celebrated architect, Lande; and the first industrial establishments of the State 
were founded about the same time. As early as 1760, arrangements were completed for 
constructing the navy yard, in which, during recent years, have been built some of Brazil’s 
best men-of-war and gunboats. The first census was taken in 1880, showing a population 
of eighty thousand inhabitants, of which twelve thousand belonged to the capital city; the 
present population of the State is seven hundred thousand, and the capital has more than 
one hundred thousand inhabitants. The inauguration of steam navigation on the Amazon 
River in 1852 and the opening of the Amazon to ships of all nations in 1867 were powerful 
influences in the development of the State. When the republic was formally proclaimed in 
1889, Para was among the first to accept the new régime; a governmental junta was elected, 


PROCESSION, FEAST OF NAZARETH. 


and Para was declared a Federal State. Of all the Brazilian States, Para has the greatest 
extent of seacoast, nearly seven hundred miles. Numerous lighthouses along the coast 


412 THESNEVSBRAZIL 


and on the river-bars protect the pilots in these waters. It is said that only the most 
experienced river pilot, and one who has been especially trained for the Amazon can 
safely be relied upon to manage the course of a steamer on this river, in consequence 


GOVERNMENT PALACE, PARA. 


of the constantly shifting river-bed, the islands that form and disappear mysteriously, 
and the unaccountable frequency of the sandbanks, especially at low tide. Its geographical 
position and the extent of its navigable rivers, afford the State of Para an outlet for much 
of the trade of northern Brazil and of the republics of Bolivia, Peru, and Venezuela. 

The State is watered by innumerable rivers and small streams [igarapés] that find an 
outlet in the great Amazon. One of the most important of these is the Trombetas, which 
rises in the Serra do Acarahy, in Guiana, and enters the Amazon near the western boundary 
of the State, at a place called Obydos, a flourishing port and the centre of a rich agricultural 
section. The Trombetas is navigable for a hundred and fifty miles, and has several tribu- 
taries, of which the largest are the Jamunda, marking part of the boundary-line between the 
States of Para and Amazonas, and the Cuminan, which comes from the highlands of Brazilian 
Guiana and dashes down over the highest cataracts found in this region. The rivers 
Tapajos, Xingu, and Tocantins, which flow into the Amazon from the south, water the 
entire southern portion of the State, as well as Goyaz and Matto Grosso, where they take 
their rise. These rivers are obstructed by rapids in the higher courses, though navigable at 
intervals almost throughout their whole extent. The Tocantins, with a length of sixteen 
hundred miles, is the most important of the three as a highway for traffic; it is fringed with 


PARA 413 


forests of castanha trees, and the cacao and rubber industries are extensively carried on in 
this region. In the upper courses of the river the climate is practically delightful, and the 
mineral wealth is abundant. The Xingu frequently widens in its course, forming great lakes, 
and in the upper waters it doubles back on itself in a huge curve, forming rapids and cataracts 
that interrupt navigation at this point. Though much shorter than the Tapajos or the Tocantins, 
its navigable distance, excepting the falls just referred to, is greater. The Tapajés enters the 
Amazon a few miles below the mouth of the Trombetas, at the port of Santarem, a prosperous 
shipping centre and the residence of many North Americans who settled there after the war 
of the Confederacy. The Xingu forms, at its mouth, part of the estuary of the Amazon, and 
the Tocantins enters the Para River south of Marajé Island, forming, according to some 
authorities, a river system entirely separate from that of the Amazon and its tributaries. 
Marajé Island covers an area of more than forty thousand square kilometres, being from 
east to west one hundred and thirty miles, and from north to south one hundred miles; it 


THEATRE DA PAZ, PARA. 


contains a number of towns and villages, its pasture lands support three hundred cattle 
ranches, and from its forests are taken some of the best qualities of Para rubber, though its 
rubber trees have been overworked because of their easy access to the shipping port. 


414 THE NEW BRAZIL 


The receipts of the State government are nearly five million dollars annually. Rubber 
alone contributes to the State and municipal incomes nearly twenty-five per cent of their 
total, the annual crop gathered 
in this State amounting to 
twelve thousand tons, valued 
at sixteen million dollars gold. 
Next to rubber, the culture of 
cacao is one of the most im- 
portant sources of revenue. 
Along the margins of the Ama- 
zon and the Tocantins the cacao 
crops are most abundant; the 
development of the product 
_ offers especial inducements, as 
the planting is easy, and in this 
region the tree bears fruit after 
three years’ growth, continuing to produce, for fifty years or more, two crops annually, if 
kept clean. The annual export of cacao averages three thousand tons. Brazil nuts are 
exported in large quantities, and the supply is practically unlimited. Mandioca is cultivated 
in every part of the State, the farinha constituting an important article of food. An increas- 
ing tendency is shown by agriculturists to vary the products grown on their plantations; and 
the State encourages this disposition by every possible means. The old system of confining 
all efforts to the production of one kind of harvest has proved undesirable from many 
standpoints, and as Para has a soil and climate so varied in different sections as to make it 
possible to grow everything tropical and semi-tropical, there is no apparent reason why its 
farms should not supply the home market, and even provide other States, with many food 
products which are now imported from Europe and North America. 

An encouraging sign of industrial enterprise is shown by the statistics of 1906 which 
state that more than three million pounds of tobacco were produced during that year, and 
that four million litres of cachaga, a native alcohol, were manufactured. The fisheries of 
the State furnish a considerable revenue, and stock raising is constantly growing in import- 
ance. Twenty thousand head of cattle were shipped from the interior to the capital last 
year, and this amount represents only about half of the total production. Through the 
activity of the present administration, an experimental station for practical agriculture was 
founded April 10, 1907, for the purpose of stimulating the study of tropical farming, improv- 
ing the methods now in vogue, and introducing scientific processes into the work of the 
farm. The institution provides a practical education in farming to a class of poor boys, who 
are cared for, fed and clothed by the State; and, annexed to the experimental station is a 
plot of land marked off in one hundred lots of sixty acres each, all of them ceded gratui- 
tously to Brazilian settlers. A stock-breeding station and a meteorological bureau are 


LAURO SODRE INSTITUTE, PARA. 


PARA 415 


connected with the establishment. The government has also enjoyed the services of an 
expert bacteriologist to study the maladies to which cattle and horses bred in the State are 
subject. A post has been established on the island of Marajé, where experiments are 
made with a view to improving the native live stock by importing fine horses and cattle 
from other countries. Marajé is the chief centre of the cattle raising industry, though there 
are also good pasture lands in the southern part of the State. 

From the forests of Para many of the finest qualities of hardwood are exported for 
cabinet purposes, and this industry is still in its infancy; the abundance and variety of this 
product must sooner or later attract the attention of commerce to the extent of increasing 
the demand and providing ways and means to introduce it ona more extensive scale to the 
markets of the world. From the palms that abound here, delicate fibres that are as fine as 
silk and stronger than linen are extracted, which are used for hammocks, mats, baskets, 
and hats, though the full range of their usefulness has never been measured. The medic- 
inal plants, dyewoods, gums, and oils found in the State are sufficient to meet the greatest 
demand. Clays of beautiful and varied colors, suitable for fine pottery, are found through- 
out the Amazon district. Gold and precious stones have been found in the high land, also 
marble, slate, and clays fitted for ornamental purposes. The manufacturing industries of 
Para include sugar-refineries, Saw-mills, etc. 

The social, educational, and commercial centre of the State is its capital city, Belém, or 
as it is more generally called by foreigners, Para. There is an alliterative proverb with 


BITTENCOURT INSTITUTE, PARA. 


respect to Para indicative of the fascinating charm which the city possesses for strangers: 
“Quem vat para Pardé para,” which is interpreted: “Who goes to Para stays there.” Another 


416 THE NEW BRAZIL 


version of the same saying signifies: “Who comes to Para is glad to stay; who drinks 
assai goes never away.” The assai is a native beverage made from the fruit of the 
assai palm, which produces large black ber- 
ries resembling grapes; it is very refreshing, 
and is one of the most popular drinks of this 
region. 

_ This picturesque and charming city offers 
many attractions to the foreign visitor in its 
beautiful tropical gardens and broad avenues 
shaded by trees of apparently impenetrable 
foliage; while the delight of its spacious bay 
fanned by cool breezes most inviting to the 
beach or the boating party makes life very 
pleasant in this rich equatorial city. The 
wealth that has poured into Para within re- 


twenty years from a quiet city of fifty thou- 
sand to a modern metropolis of more than 
twice that number of inhabitants. It is one 
of the most delightful places of residence in 
northern Brazil; the mean annual temperature 
is about eighty degrees Fahrenheit, and it is 
an agreeable fact that during the time of day 
when the heat is greatest the cooling sea breeze is strongest; also, during the hottest 
months of the year there are afternoon showers, lasting about an hour, that cool the 
atmosphere. During the day, the parks, avenues, and drives are deserted, and the only 
evidence of activity is seen in the commercial streets and along the docks and wharves; 
but in the evening the city puts on holiday dress, and all is gaiety and pleasure. In 
the Praga da Republica, and the Praga Visconde de Rio-Branco, which are among the 
beautiful parks ornamenting the city, an orchestra plays two or three evenings a week. 
The leading opera house, Theatro da Paz, is one of the finest in South America and over- 
looks the Praga da Republica; large and fashionable audiences attend nightly, and excellent 
European companies are engaged every season by the government to give a Series of operas. 
Handsomely dressed women may be Seen promenading in the Praca in company with their 
escorts, who are always relatives, and a long line of elegant carriages stands every evening 
in front’of the fashionable social clubs, one of which is the “Sport Club,” situated in the 
most attractive section of the city, where the members pass away the evening at billiards, 
bowling, gymnastics, fencing, or the more restful entertainment of cards or books. On the 
ladies’ evenings the club rooms are transformed into reception rooms, decorated with 
flowers and vines, and a programme of music usually takes the place of more athletic 


DR. ANTONIO LEMOS, INTENDENTE OF PARA. 


cent years has resulted in changing it within - 


PARA 417 


pastimes. In the library and reading room the principal foreign as well as Brazilian maga- 
zines and newspapers are on file. For visitors there is a unique attraction in the museum 
and the botanical garden, which differ in many respects from similar institutions elsewhere, 
particularly in the great variety of rare specimens which belong exclusively to the Amazon 
regions, especially of the animal world. Nowhere are to be seen reptiles larger or of more 
variegated coloring; and it is impossible to imagine anything more gorgeous than the plumage 
of the araras, toucans, and parrots that are as much at home here as in the freedom of their 
forest haunts; the luxuriance and brilliant coloring of foliage and blossoms seen in the botanical 
garden are typical of the prodigality of Nature in everything that grows in this favored zone. 
In the public buildings, as well as other government improvements, the city gives 
proof of large expenditure, 
but at the same time judi- 
cious investment; some of 
the handsomest structures 
have been erected for edu- 
cational purposes. Public 
instruction comprises pri- 
mary, Secondary, normal, 
technical, and professional 
courses. The first is given 
in the State elementary and 
primary schools, which 
have an average attendance 
of fifteen thousand pupils, 
in the Outeiro Orphan 
Asylum, and in the Insti- 
tutes of Prata and Ourém; 
secondary instruction is 
given at the Para Lyceum, 
in three courses, includ- 
ing a course organized ac- 
cording to the plan of 
instruction of the Gym- 
nasio Nacional, a course of 
surveying, and a commer- 
cial course; technical and oi s 
professional instruction is THE BOSOUE, PARA. 
given in the Para Institute 
of Mechanical Arts, which is a free boarding-school for minors, under military conditions, 
where gratuitous instruction in mechanical arts is given. There are five workshops in 


418 THE NEW) BRAZIL 


connection with the Institute, equipped respectively for the work of carpenters, blacksmiths, 
tailors, tinsmiths, and, under one roof, shoemakers, curriers, and tanners. When the pupil’s 
education is finished, he 
serves a term in the State 
militia, after which he 
obtains his discharge or 
is promoted. The school 
buildings are creditable 
to the city, and several 
are particularly hand- 
some establishments. 
When Secretary Root 
visited Para in 1906 he 
was especially impressed 
with the admirable sys- 
tem of public instruction 
which prevails in this 
Sp State, and the extraordi- 
OFFICE OF THE NEWSPAPER “A PROVINCIA.” nary degree of protection 
and aid extended to the 
poorer classes. He spent hours in the various institutions, and was enthusiastic in praise 
of them all. The Lauro Sodré Institute, which is one of the best technical schools in South 
America, wins eulogies from all who have occasion to pay a visit to its various departments. 
It is installed with one hundred and ten machines for various purposes, such as printing, 
engraving, bookbinding, etc., and free industrial training is given to four hundred boarding 
pupils, who are provided with lodging, food, clothing, and instruction, as well as to one 
hundred day pupils, who study agriculture. The course of training includes all the trades, 
such as printing, bookbinding, decorating and painting, carpentry, boilermaking, tanning, 
tailoring, and similar branches, as well as practical farming. All the furniture used in the 
schools of the capital is made by pupils of the Lauro Sodré Institute, who also make all 
the uniforms for the State troops. The students’ brass band is well-organized and is a 
credit to the Institute. The General Bittencourt Institute and the Benjamin Constant 
Lyceum are industrial schools of high standing, and the State Normal School shows 
increased attendance annually, with continued improvement in the standard of training 
acquired. For higher education the Para Law School, the School of Pharmacy, and other 
institutions have been established. The government spends nearly a million dollars 
annually for public instruction, and subsidizes a pedagogic publication, 4 Escola, one of 
the best in South America. 
The governor of the State, Dr. Augusto Montenegro, is zealous in his determination to 
advance the State in everything that relates to the well-being of its people, both intellectually 


ve 


PARA 419 


and materially. Not only has his attention been directed to the importance of developing 
the great natural resources of his State, but, appreciating his responsibility toward the rising 
generation of Para, he has devoted 
his talents to the solution of the prob- 
lems that touch the future as well as 
the present of one of the greatest 
States of Brazil. Dr. Montenegro en- 
tered on his high official duties at the 
beginning of the present century. He 
has been a prominent figure in polit- 
ical life from the first days of his 
public career, and, as he is still a 
young man, the future offers particu- 
larly brilliant prospects for the realiza- 
tion of his highest aspiration. No 
other arena of activity presents better SMALL SALA IN THE MUNICIPAL BUILDING. 
advantages for the fulfilment of noble 

aims and the reward of earnest endeavor than are to be found by the youth of Para in 
their native State, which has already given to Brazil many of her great scientists, statesmen, 
orators, and journalists. 

Cooperating with the State government in all its progressive movements for the benefit 
of the country, the Intendente of the Municipality of Belém, Senator Antonio Lemos, merits the 
exalted position he holds among the great men of his State as a political leader of unblemished 
patriotism and an executive chief whose ability and good judgment are seen in every feature 
of the municipal administration. He has done everything to improve the State capital, 
giving especial attention to its sanitary condition and to the hygiene of the various institu- 
tions of charity, the hospitals, schools, etc. The police are well-drilled and efficient in their 
duties and public order is perfectly maintained. The churches and hospitals are worthy of 
especial mention, particularly the old cathedral, and the hospitals Santa Casa and Beneficiencia 
Portugueza. The last-named takes care of about two hundred patients on an average, and 
is one of the model institutions of the kind. Electric tramways connect every part of the 
city, which is lighted with electricity and has complete telephonic and telegraphic communi- 
cation. A favorite passeio of Para is the beautiful “ Bosque,” which has been made an ideal 
resort through the efforts of Dr. Lemos; its shaded driveways, winding footpaths, fountains, 
flowers, and rich tropical foliage giving evidence of the artistic taste of the Intendente, who 
has designed this park as a bower of enchantment. It is not surprising that such a public- 
spirited leader should have won the esteem and affection of the citizens, which is shown 
in many ways. Dr. Lemos has been for many years the editor of 4 Provincia do Para, 
the chief newspaper of northern Brazil, and one of the most important in the republic, 
and the citizens have presented him with a handsome new office building, a solid and 


420 THE NEW BRAZIL 


commodious edifice, fitted up with all the modern conveniences of a newspaper plant, 
including cases, linotype machines, and complete office furniture. The building occupies 
a central locality and is a fitting monument to the genius of the man whose pen, no less 
than his eloquent voice, has been constantly employed in behalf of liberty and progress. 
O Jornal is one of the important daily newspapers, having a circulation of fifteen thousand 
copies, and there are several weekly periodicals of note. 

The public buildings of Para are substantial and some of them are very handsome 
edifices. The old palace of the governor, built during Pombal’s time, is still one of the 
attractive edifices of the city, though the new palace adjoining it, used by the legislative 
assembly and the municipal officials, is also an ornament to the capital. The Alfandega, or 
custom house, one of the modern additions to the commercial quarter of the city, presents 
a favorable aspect from the bay. A splendid public library ranks among the community’s 
intellectual attractions. A charming feature of the city of Para is the magnificence of the 
vegetation in the tropical forests which surround it, and the picturesque view that stretches 


ESTRADA DE SAO JERONYMO, PARA. 


out before it in the broad open harbor with its busy traffic. The city lies on flat land, and 
seen for the first time from the steamer entering the harbor the impression predominating is 


PARA 421 


one of color rather than form; it is “the white city” before one has had time to decide 
whether it is large or small, old-fashioned or modern. A nearer view modifies this 
impression, and reveals a busy commercial sea- 
port, with evidences of Portuguese architecture 
in the houses characteristically decorated with 
ornamental tiles, though the streets have been 
broadened and beautified under the present ad- 
ministration. The spacious pracas, and the 
towering trees that ornament the broader and 
more modern avenues of the city, heighten the 
picturesque general effectiveness. Para is the 
seat of the bishopric of Belém, and the episcopal 
palace is one of the most important edifices of 
the capital. 

Arrangements have been completed for the 
improvement of the port of Para, and work will 
begin at once. The enterprise is in charge of 
Sir Weetman Pearson, of the English firm of 
Pearson and Company, under whose direction ree : By 
were built the great docks of Vera Cruz, Mexico, A ESIDENCR GRIGOVERNOGTMONTERRGRO. 
and many other public improvements effected in 
that progressive republic. Every year Para presents a more modern appearance, in keeping 
with the advancement that is being made in every department. Governor Montenegro has 
greatly improved the railways of the State and has made several important extensions. 

Besides the capital, the State has two thriving ports on the Amazon, Santarem and 
Obydos, and a number of other growing cities. Santarem, situated at the mouth of the 
Tapajos River, is the chief shipping centre for an extensive region, most of the exports of 
northern Matto Grosso, as well as those of southwestern Para, being carried through this 
port. The city has many large public buildings, the municipal palace, which occupies the 
centre of Sao Sebastian square, being one of the most important edifices. A theatre, built 
by private citizens and presented to the municipality in 1897, a new market place, several 
schools, and churches are among the prominent buildings. Santarem is the seat of the 
bishopric of Lower Amazonas, which was created in 1904.. It is a manufacturing centre, 
several steam saw mills, distilleries, and factories of various kinds being located in the city. 
Braganga, connected with the capital by railway, is a prosperous town of twenty thousand 
people; it is situated on the Gurupy River, which divides the State of Para from that of 
Maranhao, and is near the northern seacoast. Braganga occuples a picturesque site on a 
sloping hillside and is beautified by many shade trees. Its pracas and avenidas are well- 
paved, six public gardens being filled with trees and flowers. The municipal palace is in 
Deodoro da Fonseca praca, which is surrounded by many beautiful residences as well. 


422 THE NEW BRAZIL 


Cameta, near the mouth of the Tocantins, has an important trade in castanha nuts, cacao, 
and other products; Monte Alegre is noted for the salubrity of its climate; Pinheiro is a 
favorite suburb of Belém, with which it is to be connected by railway, and there are several 
other towns of rising importance. The immigration bureau of the State is making judicious 
efforts to attract foreign colonies, and the outlook for desirable immigration is favorable. 
Apropos of this subject, one is reminded of the incisive and eloquent language of Coudreau: 
“Progress is indefinite; no race is its perpetual keeper. It is like a legacy, bequeathed by 
the race which disappears to the one which succeeds. Its course is onward; it has already 
moved westward toward Europe; it has already actually moved from Europe to America. 
Why should not centuries to come see upon the banks of the Amazon their most magnifi- 
cent flourishing, as early centuries saw their manifestations upon the banks of the rivers of 
Egypt and IndiaP” 


CUSTOM HOUSE, PARA 


CHAPTER XXVI 


MARANHAO 


CNS an area of nearly two hundred thou- 
sand square miles, Maranhao ranks sixth in size 
among the Brazilian States, and is one of the most 
important in political and intellectual advancement. 
Its history reveals in bright colors the brave spirit 
and unwavering patriotism of a people who have 
given to Brazil some of its most distinguished leaders, 
‘and to whom is due the successful issue of many of 
its severest struggles against invasion and oppres- 
sion in the early days of its history. The territory 
of Maranhdo was originally bestowed on the Portu- 
guese historian and statesman, Joao de Barros, in 
1534; but two expeditions sent out by him to colo- 
nize the capitania were shipwrecked, and the attempt 
was abandoned. The first successful effort to estab- 
of lish a settlement was made by the French under the 
STATUE OF GONCALVES DIAZ. direction of La Ravardiére, in 1612, on the island of 
Sao Luiz, where the present State capital is situated, 
named Sado Luiz in nengr of King Louis XIII. of France, though it has always been more 
commonly known as Maranhado. The French were expelled a few years later by the 
intrepid Brazilian warrior, Jeronymo de Albuquerque Maranhao, a nephew of Duarte Coelho, 
of Pernambuco. In recognition of his services, the brave soldier was appointed capitdo-mor 
by the Portuguese governor-general Alexandre de Moura, under whose administration the 
division of the Brazilian government into the two States of Maranhao and Brazil was made 
in 1624, during the union of the Spanish and Portuguese crowns. 
The governor-general of the State of Maranhao, which comprised the capitanias of 


Ceara, Piauhy, Para, and other north Brazilian provinces, afterward removed his residence 
423 


424 THE NEW BRAZIL 


to Para, leaving the capitao-mor to govern in Maranhao, until, in 1754, subordinate governors 
were appointed under a capitdo-general, and the subsequent separation of the States, as else- 
where mentioned, was followed by the division of the whole country into provinces, a 


AAVENIDA MARANHENSE, SHOWING GOVERNOR'S PALACE ON THE RIGHT. 


system which remained in force throughout the imperial régime. During the Dutch 
invasion, Maranhdo was the scene of many heroic conflicts, one of her greatest leaders in 
this war being the brave captain Antonio Teixeira de Mello, whose memory is still honored 
in the annals of Maranhao. 

The State is mountainous in the southern part, gradually sloping northward, and 
forming extensive plains along the seacoast. Several large rivers drain the territory. The 
eastern boundary is defined by the Parnahyba, which takes its rise in the Tabatinga Moun- 
tains at the junction of the four States of Goyaz, Bahia, Piauhy, and Maranhdo; the western 
border is marked partly by the Tocantins and partly by the Gurupy. In the interior of the . 
State the chief rivers are the Mearim, navigable in winter for two hundred miles, with 
Several important tributaries; the Itapicuru, navigable for five hundred miles; the Monim, 
Tury-assa, Uru, and Cururupt. The most populous sections of the State are along the 
coast and in the vicinity of the navigable rivers, the reason being apparent in the greater 
facilities provided in these districts for the transportation of products. The climate is 
healthful, except in some of the low lands, where intermittent fevers are prevalent during 
the rainy season. The soil is fertile and yields profitable harvests of cotton, sugar cane, 
tobacco, coffee, and cereals. Cattle raising flourishes on the plateaus of the interior. The 
social and industrial progress of the State has been as creditable as the record of its political 
advancement. 


MARANHAO 425 


Several steamship lines ply up and down the coast and along the river routes of the 
State. A coast line, belonging to the Maranhao Steam Navigation Company, is subsidized 
by the Federal government to facilitate traffic between Maranhao and other States of 
northern Brazil. Its steamers are new and well-built, five of them having recently arrived 
from the British builder’s shipyard. The same company has a number of smaller boats for 
river trade, though the Companhia Fluvial Maranhense has a subsidy from the State govern- 
ment for service on the rivers, and has five steamers engaged in this navigation. The 
extent of navigable rivers makes the question of overland transportation one of secondary 
importance, though there is a railway line in operation between the river ports Caxias on 
the Itapucura, and Cajazeiras on the Parnahyba. A railway has been projected to con- 
nect Caxias with Porto Franco on the western boundary of the State. The construction 
of this railway will greatly facilitate the development of the rich resources of the interior, 
and especially the mineral wealth, which is abundant. Gold has been found in large 
quantities, and valuable copper and iron ores exist in the vicinity of Grajahu and else- 
where; and granite of a very fine quality was discovered recently by the present governor, 
Dr. Benedicto Leite. The annual exports of the State amount to more than two million 
dollars in value. The population of Maranhdo is seven hundred thousand, the capital city 


PRAGA JOAO LISBOA. 


of Sao Luiz having fifty thousand inhabitants. The city is located on the island of Sao Luiz, 
and is one of the most attractive in northern Brazil. It has been called “a city of little 
palaces,” from the modest size but solid structure of its edifices, which are remarkable both 


426 THE NEW BRAZIL 


for their substantial appearance and their architectural beauty. The chalet of Dr. Carlos 
Coelho is an ideal tropical residence, with its broad verandahs and large windows, over- 
looking a beautiful garden filled with flowers and ferns. The Maranhense dispenses 


RUA DO SOL. 


hospitality with charming grace and liberality. The city is beautified by broad, shaded 
streets and many pracas, of which the handsomest is that of Carmo, the site of the historic 
church and convent of Nossa Senhora do Carmo, which is honored as the last resting-place 
of the distinguished journalist Joao Lisboa, who, as the editor of the Jornal de Timon, won 
national fame among the political writers of the empire. The Praca do Palacio, in which are 
situated the palace of the president, the bishop’s palace, the municipal buildings, and other 
legislative offices, overlooks the old fort of Sado Luiz, better known as the baluarte, or great 
bastion, divided into two parts, named respectively Sado Cosme and Sao Damido. The 
governor, Dr. Benedicto Leite, has so beautified this public garden that it is one of the most 
picturesque pracas of the capital. 

In the Praga dos Remedios stands a handsome monument, erected to the memory of 
one of Maranhao’s most illustrious sons, the great lyric poet of Brazil, Antonio Goncalves 
Dias. It is a marble column representing the palm tree, which the poet loved so well, 
the capital of the column carrying out the design in a tuft of palm leaves wrought in the 
sculptor’s best art; the height of the monument is about seventy-five feet. On the four 
sides of the pedestal are medallions of the famous Maranhenses, Jodo Lisboa, Sotero dos 
Reis, Gomes de Souza, and Odorico Mendes. Near to the Praia da Trinidade stands the 
cathedral, one of the largest in Brazil, in the crypt of which lie buried all the past bishops 
of Maranhao and many of the presidents; the convent of Santo Antonio, situated near the 


MARANHAO 427 


cathedral, is famous as having been the scene of the inspired offices of many noted friars, 
and is honored as the last resting-place of the renowned botanist Dr. Corréa de Lacerda. 
The educational and charitable institutions are numerous, among the most important being 


COTTON MILLS, MARANHAO. 


the Escola Popular Onze de Agosto, the Lyceu Maranhense, Casa da Misericordia, Asylo de 
Meninas Desvalidas [orphans’ asylum], Hospital Beneficencia Portugueza, and numerous 
seminaries. The Model School, which was founded by the governor, is one of the best 
institutions of its kind in Brazil. 

The manufacturing interests of the capital are various, the most important being the 
.cotton mills of the Companhia Fabril Maranhense, the present director of which is Senhor 
J. M. A. Santos. Their two factories have seven hundred looms, and employment is 
furnished for a thousand operatives. There are several other cotton mills of importance, 
this industry being one of the chief sources of revenue to the State. 

The second city of importance in the State is Caxias, the birthplace of Gongalves Dias, 
a prosperous city of thirty thousand inhabitants. Situated on the banks of the Itapicura 
River, and commanding a large share of the commerce of the interior, especially in cotton, 
tropical plants, and cattle, Alcantara, a city of twenty thousand inhabitants, lies on the north- 
western shore of the bay of Sado José, which separates the. island Sao Luiz from the 
mainland. It is a seaport, and is especially famous for the exportation of fine cocoanuts. 


428 THE NEW BRAZIL 


Moncao, on the river Pindaré, is a thriving market for the cattle brought in from the 
interior plateaus, and even from the valley of the Tocantins.  Itapicurt-mirim is also 
a growing cattle market. The port of Bareirinhas, in the eastern part of the State, is 
gaining importance through the extensive manufacture of brandies. Vianna is a rich 
agricultural centre. 

A new era of progress has opened for Maranhao in common with all the States of 
Brazil. The awakening of its people to the opportunities afforded for great industrial 
development under conditions that are constantly improving, has resulted in the establish- 
ment of new enterprises and in general commercial expansion. Lloyd Brazilian steamers 
call here en route to and from New York, and vessels belonging to English, American, and 
German companies make regular trips between this port and Europe or North America. 
The recent harbor improvements have greatly increased its commercial facilities. In the 
march of progress, the destinies of Maranhao have been directed by statesmen of courage 
and foresight, who have devoted their energies to promoting its best interests. The present 
governor, Dr. Benedicto Leite, has been untiring in his efforts to improve existing conditions 
and to bring still greater honor and credit to Maranhdo, the State which has always been 
famous for the refinement and intellectuality of its people. It is here that the purest Portu- 
suese is spoken in Brazil, and here the social life is most charming. The press is represented 
by newspapers which have literary as well as news interest, the Revista del Norte being one 
of the best periodicals of northern Brazil. Under the present administration, a new impetus 
has been given to every feature of progressive endeavor, and the results are seen not only 
in the development of the State at large, but also in the transformation of its capital, which 
is progressing steadily along the lines of public and private conveniences while acquiring 
added beauty and enhanced civic pride. 


AVENIDA SILVA MAYO. 


CHAPTER XXVII 


MATTO GROSSO, GOYAZ, AND PIAUHY 


EARLY one-third of the whole territory of 
Brazil lies in the three States of Matto 
Grosso, Goyaz, and Piauhy, bordering on the 
northern group, Amazonas, Para, and Maranhao, 
to which they are similar in natural resources 
and climate. Matto Grosso and Goyaz extend 
over an important part of the central tableland of 
Brazil and mark the dividing line between the 
two gigantic river systems of the South American 
continent,—the Amazon and La Plata,—while 
Piauhy, stretching inland from the northern coast 
and bordering Maranhao on the west, and Ceara, 
Pernambuco, and Bahia on the east, combines 
the characteristics of both the northern and the 
eastern coast States, having also in the extreme 
south, where it borders on Goyaz, some of the 
features that prevail in the central Brazilian States. 
The history of the discovery and develop- 
ment of Matto Grosso and Goyaz is a record of 
early adventure, followed by the steady progress 
that attends a more regular system of industrial enterprise. The Paulistas were the first to 
penetrate the depths of their forests and to navigate their innumerable rivers in an effort 
to settle the country; but the discovery of gold in these States in the eighteenth century, 
brought in its train hosts of eager gold hunters and diamond seekers, whose number 
continually increased until the more accessible mines of Bahia and Minas Geraes turned the 
gold hunter’s attention to those regions. Both States originally belonged to Sao Paulo, until, 


about the middle of the eighteenth century, each was made an independent capitania; 
429 


430 TEN EVV Broa Ze 


Matto Grosso under the administration of Rolim de Moura, and Goyaz under Marcos de 
Noronha, afterward Count of Arcos. According to excellent authority, the gold secured 
toward the close of the eighteenth century from the locality now occupied by the city of 
Cuyaba, in Matto Grosso, amounted in one month to twelve thousand pounds’ weight, 
taken from diggings of less than three feet in depth, and equally astonishing discoveries 
were made in Goyaz, at about the same period. The mining of those pioneers was attended 
with the greatest danger, in consequence of the hostility of the Indians, who destroyed whole 
settlements of the gold diggers, and effectually checked the industry. Now that modern 
enterprise is opening up this rich territory by the construction of railroads to traverse even 
the most remote sections, the prospect is excellent for a revival of mining on a larger scale, 
and perhaps with even more astonishing results. 

Both Matto Grosso and Goyaz have an extensive area of mountainous regions and 
plateaus, and in each there are low lying tracts of land along some of the river courses. 
Goyaz extends farther north than Matto Grosso, though not so far south, and its area is less, 
covering twenty thousand square leagues, while Matto Grosso has fifty thousand square 
leagues. The outline of the two States, which together occupy the most central position 
on the map of South America, is heart-shaped; the apex is formed by the southern part of 
Matto Grosso where it touches the boundaries of Sado Paulo, Parana, and the republic 
of Paraguay; Goyaz touches the western limits of Minas Geraes, Bahia, Piauhy, and 
Maranhao; Matto Grosso marks the eastern boundary of Bolivia and the southern boundary 
of Amazonas; and both States extend north as far as the southern boundary of Para. 

The mineral wealth of Matto Grosso includes gold, iron, silver, platinum, copper, lead, 
diamonds, agates, mica, limestone, fine qualities of plastic clay, granite, and marbles. Hard- 
woods used for cabinet purposes, dyewoods, medicinal plants, and rubber are exported in 
increasing quantities annually. Sugar cane, coffee, tobacco, rice, and other staple articles 
crow with little cultivation. Immense herds of cattle graze on the plateaus and hillsides, 
and the exportation of hides forms one of the chief sources of revenue. Yerba maté of a 
fine quality comes from this State. Although the principal means of transportation from 
Matto Grosso at present is either va La Plata River and its tributaries or the Madeira and 
the Amazon, yet every indication points to the early completion of railway communication 
between Matto Grosso and Rio de Janeiro, which will greatly facilitate the export trade. 
Steamers that make the voyage to Matto Grosso via La Plata stop at Corumba on the south- 
western frontier, where the business of the custom house, or alfandega, of the State, is 
transacted. Corumba is a busy little town, occupying a picturesque site on the brow of 
a hill overlooking the river; it is the chief shipping port for a large territory, and has a 
thriving trade with the interior towns and villages. From Corumba to the State capital, 
Cuyaba, a distance of several hundred miles, the trip is made by smaller steamers via the 
Sao Lourengo branch of the Paraguay River. The scenery along this route is intensely 
tropical, and vegetation presents the most exaggerated specimens to be found on the face 
of the globe; the same is true of the Guaporé River banks, where, according to scientific 


MAT [OSGROSSOSGOY AZ, AND PIAUHY 431 


authority, a commission appointed by the government to explore this region, in 1875, discov- 
ered a climbing palm, belonging to the Calamus procumbens variety, which measured seven 
hundred feet in length and was scarcely half an inch thick. The foliage ef trees and vines 
of every description grows to incredible proportions; nowhere are more beautiful water- 
lilies to be found than the Victoria Regia of these regions; the cotton tree, from the long 
silky fibre of whose blossoms is obtained a most admirable substitute for feathers in filling 
pillows or cushions, grows wild here. 

Cuyaba, the capital of Matto Grosso, is a city of about thirty thousand inhabitants, 
Situated in the central part of the State, a mile or two from the steamboat landing, with 
which it is connected by street cars. The city was founded soon after the discovery of 


CHURCH IN CUYABA, CAPITAL OF MATTO GROSSO. 


gold, early in the eighteenth century, upon the site of the richest deposit. It lies between 
the hills of Boa Morte and Prainha, and is traversed by a small stream, an affluent of the 
Sado Lourenco. So rich in gold is this region that specimens of the precious metal are 
frequently found in the streets after a heavy rain. The city has many modern improve- 
ments, such as street car lines, waterworks, a very beautiful praca, overlooking which are 
the government buildings and the palace of the bishop; excellent schools, including the 
Lyceu Cuyabano and the Collegio Sao Joao Baptisto, and a number of charitable institu- 
tions, one of which is an orphan asylum for boys, sheltering three hundred beneficiaries. 
Considering its great distance from the large centres of population and industry, it is 
surprising that the State of Matto Grosso has so greatly developed in commercial impor- 
tance, and that its cities and towns present a modern and enterprising aspect. The voyage 


432. THE NEW BRAZIL 


from Rio de Janeiro to Cuyaba via Buenos Aires, requires a month, and this is quite the 
quickest route, though a railway is under construction which will make the distance no 
more than three days’ journey. The value of products exported annually from this State 
is more than two million dollars gold. — 

Goyaz, as well as Matto Grosso, has a great future in prospect, not alone through the 
development of its mines, but through the promotion of agricultural industries. The soil 
and climate are adapted to the cultivation of a variety of products, especially tobacco, sugar, 
cotton, and cereals, though cattle raising and mining are at present the chief sources of 
wealth. Wine growing is an increasing industry in the southern part of the State. The 
chief highways of traffic between Goyaz and the outside markets are the Tocantins and the 
Araguaya rivers, which connect it with the seaport of Para, and the Paranahyba River and 
its tributaries, which carry the products of the southern districts to the ports of the Parana 
River. The climate of Goyaz is dry and moderate, and generally healthful; the State is 
traversed by several mountain ranges and watered by large rivers. In the heart of the 
chief mountain range a territory has been surveyed for the future national capital, though it 
is not likely that a change will be made from the present site until more satisfactory railway 
communication has been established, at least between the most important points. 

Dr. Cruls, director of the Rio de Janeiro Observatory and late chief of the Commission 
which surveyed the district just mentioned, presented a complete and extremely interesting 
report, in which he calls special attention to the splendid natural advantages of the country 
and its suitability as a site for the future capital of the Union. The data given in that report 
are the most exact and satisfactory which exist at present on the southern zone of Goyaz. 
A company, which has been formed to navigate the Tocantins and the Araguaya rivers, 
is constructing railways at the points where waterfalls make river traffic impracticable, and, 
when these lines are completed, direct and rapid communication will be established v/a Para 
to the Atlantic. 

The Great Western of Brazil Railway Company has just completed surveys for carrying 
its system from the south of Pernambuco to the Tocantins, and the Federal government 
proposes establishing communication between the north of Goyaz and the States of Bahia, 
Sergipe, Pernambuco, and Piauhy, connecting the town of Pedro Affonzo, in Goyaz, on 
the banks of the Tocantins, with the railroad system about to be built in those States. 
The Goyaz railway, which is being built from Formiga in Minas Geraes to Leopoldina 
on the right bank of the Araguaya River, will cross several populous districts in south- 
eastern Goyaz, passing through the State capital, Goyaz, the famous Villa Boa of early gold 
mining days. 

Even a short visit to the State would be sufficient to convince one of the splendid future 
which lies before it. The prospect of the improvements above referred to is already attract- 
ing the attention of capitalists and others to Goyaz, where they perceive a rich and ample 
field for their operations in the enormous natural resources and the productive capacity of 
this privileged State. 


MATTO GROSSO, GOYAZ, AND PIAUHY 433 


Goyaz is picturesquely situated in the valley of the Araguaya, the twin confluent of 
the Tocantins, near its source in the nigh mountains of the Serra Dourado, where it is 
separated only by a narrow ridge from the source of the Tocantins, the two streams 
watering different valleys through the whole length of the State until joined in a single 
current at its extreme northern limit. The city is the centre of the cattle industry, of 
important wine manufacturing interests, and of the chief culture of tobacco, of which this 
State produces a very superior quality. The population of the State is about three 
hundred thousand, and of the capital, twenty thousand inhabitants. The peaceful and 
hospitable character of its people is noteworthy. Public instruction is provided at the 
Academy of Law, the Lyceum, and the Normal School in the capital and in primary schools 
throughout the interior. ; 

Piauhy has the shortest coast line of any Brazilian State that borders on the Atlantic 
Ocean; but it has a good port, Tutoya, at the mouth of the river. Parnahyba, through 
which the foreign trade of the State is carried. Tutoya is situated in Maranhdo, the river 
forming a delta between the two States, though the privileges of the port are held in common, 
and all coast steamers of the Lloyd-Brazileiro line, as well as those of several foreign 
companies, call regularly with cargoes for both Maranhao and Piauhy. Within a short distance 
of Tutoya, on the boundary line between Piauhy and Ceara, and at the mouth of another 
branch of the Parnahyba delta, is situated the port of Amarragdo. A few leagues up the 
Parnahyba, which is navigable for steamers, the capital of the State, Therezina, occupies a 
picturesque location on the right bank of the river. It has a population of twenty thousand, 
and is the largest city of Piauhy, though Parnahyba, on the delta, is a growing centre of 
industry, with sixteen thousand inhabitants. The resources of the State have never been 
thoroughly explored, though it is especially adapted to stock raising; more than a million 
head of cattle roam over its extensive pasture lands. The annual exports of this State are 
valued at nearly a million dollars gold; cotton, leather, Manicoba rubber, and cattle are the 
chief sources of revenue. The pastoral industry is in its infancy, and no attempt has yet 
been made to establish dairy enterprises, though conditions are especially favorable for 
their development. The proposed extension of railways through the State will undoubtedly 
stimulate industrial activity, by bringing immigration to its vast unpeopled serfées. The 
area of Piauhy is three hundred and two thousand square kilometres, and the population is 
three hundred thousand, or less than one person to a square kilometre. Its territory is rich 
in woods used for cabinet purposes, yet there is not one saw mill in the State. Gold, silver, 
copper, saltpetre, and alum have been discovered, the abundance of the last-named product 
offering especial inducements for the establishment of tanneries. Many small cities are 
scattered throughout the State, among others, Amarante, with a population of ten thousand, 
the commercial centre of a large district; Unido, noted for its cotton industry; Floriano, 
in the Manicoba rubber region, all flourishing ports on the river Parnahyba. In the interior, 
connected by public roads are: Oeiras, the former capital; Picos, a market for hides and 
rubber; and Piracuruca, in the mining district. 


yy) _THE NEW BRAZIL 


The history of Piauhy dates from the seventeenth century, when a native of Sao Paulo, 
named Domingos Jorge, and a Portuguese, named Domingos Affonso Mafrense, found their 
way into its serfoes in search of Indian slaves. They made a settlement and established 
Several cattle ranches. After their death, these ranches passed into the possession of the 
Jesuit fathers, and when the Order was expelled from Brazil the ranches became the 
property of the crown. They were leased by the crown to an enterprising engineer, 
Dom Antonio José de Sampaio, who built up an extensive cattle raising industry, forming 
the basis of the chief product of the State to-day. 

Under the colonial government, Piauhy belonged first to Maranhdao, then to Pernambuco 
and Bahia, and later to all these capitanias at the same time; until, in 1811, it was declared 
a separate capitania and, in 1824, a province of.the empire. Since the inauguration of the 
republic, Piauhy has been a State of the Union. It is the purpose of the State government 
to encourage Immigration, in order that the vast territory may be peopled by energetic and 
industrious citizens, who will develop its wealth and contribute to its social as well as 
commercial progress. 


OX TEAM, PIAUHY. 


CHAPTER XXVIII 


CEARA 


Deace. colonial days, after the Dutch 
were defeated and driven out of north- 

ern Brazil, the capitania of Pernambuco in- 
cluded all the territory now comprised in the 
neighboring States of Alagoas, Parahyba, Rio 
Grande do Norte, and Ceara. Ceara remained 
a part of this capitania until 1799, when it 
was declared independent, being even then 
important for its social and commercial posi- 
tion among the territories of northern Brazil. 
This distinction has always been conserved, 
not only under the empire,—when, as a 
province, it was the first to solemnize the emancipation of slaves, in 1884, four years before 
the national abolition law was put into effect,—but also since the inauguration of the 
republic, with the success of which its leading statesmen have been prominently identified. 
The Cearenses, as the natives of this State are called, are distinguished for energy and 
industry, characteristics not generally supposed to belong to the inhabitants of an equatorial 
zone. But though the State lies entirely within eight degrees of south latitude, yet the 
climate is so tempered by sea breezes and by the altitude of its interior serras and plateaus 
that it is unsurpassed in healthfulness, and is the favorite sanitarium of the republic, 
especially recommended for consumptives. Though the narrow stretch of land along the 
coast is equatorial in climate and vegetation, yet a few hours’ journey by rail carries one to 
the serfao, one of the most salubrious regions of the globe. Centenarians are numerous in 
this State, and hundreds of people pass their four score and ten years in the placid enjoy- 
ment that a healthy old age ensures. The bracing air of the plateaus develops a spirit of 
enterprise and initiative in the Cearenses, and these qualities have been shown when they 


have made their home in other States, as was the case when Ceara was visited by a very 
435 


LEGISLATIVE CHAMBER, FORTALEZA, CEARA. 


436 THE NEW BRAZIL 


dry season in 1879, and a great number emigrated to Para and Amazonas, where their 
energy was felt in many improvements that followed their arrival: to their industry and 
intelligence was largely due the development of the great rubber interests of these States; 
they were the first to open up to traffic the Purds, Acre, Javary, and other rivers of the 
richest rubber regions. 

The area of Ceara is about five thousand square leagues, and the length of the coast 
line one hundred and twenty leagues. On the eastern boundary the State adjoins Rio 
Grande do Norte and Parahyba; on the south it is bordered by Pernambuco; the western 
limit is marked by a chain of serras separating it from Piauhy. Three natural divisions of 
the State influence its climate and productions,—the coast land, the slopes of the serras, and 
the interior plateaus. The coast region, extending from ten to fifteen miles inland, is subject 
to moist sea breezes, and the soil is particularly adapted to the cultivation of cotton, the fibre 
of which here possesses superior silky qualities, with singular flexibility and resistance. 
This part of the State is also suited to the cultivation of sugar cane, which, in the valley of 
Aracape, between the capital and Baturité, reaches the extraordinary height of from twenty 
to thirty feet, measuring three inches in diameter; in some districts sugar plantations last ten 
years or more without being replanted. Corn and manioc, or mandioca, thrive in various kinds 
of soil, especially the former, which is planted with good results in the clayey covering of the 
rocks as well as in the soft sand, and produces enormous crops, growing most abundantly in 
the Serra Grande. In some years the harvests of corn are so much greater than the facilities 
for moving the crop that immense quantities are abandoned to animals. Mandioca, which 
develops its highest value when grown in soft, porous, and somewhat deep soils, humid and 
alkaline, warmed by the strongest rays of a tropical sun, is produced in the best qualities in 
Ceara. In the neighborhood of lagoons and marshes rice grows abundantly. The soil and 
climate of the serras are suited admirably to the needs of the coffee plant, and tobacco grows 
in this State along the sandy borders of rivers where the land is just washed by the overflow; 
soil already exhausted by the cultivation of sugar cane will produce good tobacco. The vege- 
tation on the serras and extended interior tablelands is abundant, including the most valuable 
dyewoods, medicinal plants, woods for ornamental purposes, fibrous, resinous, oleaginous, 
and other varieties, and constitutes an important source of revenue. The carnatba grows here 
in abundance, the extraction of carnauba wax being one of the most prosperous industries. 

The chief wealth of the interior districts of Ceara is derived from the cattle trade, which 
thrives wonderfully under the influences of a salubrious climate, an even temperature, and 
freedom from pestilential marshes. From the earliest days, this industry has been success- 
fully engaged in, which no doubt accounts for the peculiar fact that the inland plateaus were 
settled long before the coast territory. The extent of the mineral wealth is unknown, 
but it is unquestionably great. In 1866, direct lines of steamers were established between 
Fortaleza, the capital, and Liverpool, and vessels now call at its ports from all parts of the 
world. Ceara is only two weeks’ voyage from New York, and the trip could be made ina 
week by fast steamers. 


CEARA 437 


Two railways transport the products of the interior to the seacoast; the Baturité railway 
connects the capital with the town of Senador Pompeu, two hundred miles distant, and the 
Sobral line provides transportation facilities for a productive region between the seaport of 
Camocin, near the extreme western boundary and the interior town of Ipu, covering a 
distance of one hundred and fifty miles. The government gives especial attention to the 
problem of overcoming the bad effects of droughts which visit the country from time to 
time; to this end, irrigating ditches, reservoirs, and other systems for securing water for the 
plantations in the dry season have been constructed. 

The foreign business relations of the State are carefully fostered by the Commercial 
Association of Ceara, a wide-awake and progressive organization, which seeks to extend the 


RAILROAD DEPOT, CEARA. 


external trade by every possible means. Manufacturing interests are not neglected, there 
being several iron foundries, brick and tile works, wineries, and cotton mills. Lacemaking 
is an important industry. There are several cotton factories in the capital, and at Baturité 
and other large cities of the State. 

Education receives increasing attention, and every town sel importance is provided with 
free public reading rooms and libraries, usually under the direction .of literary societies. 
The public library of the capital contains ten thousand volumes. The chief scientific society 
of the State is the /nstituto Historico do Ceara, which publishes a magazine devoted to 
Scientific knowledge. The State maintains a normal school and four Latin schools, a lyceum, 
and four hundred primary and secondary schools. The State has about a million inhabitants, 
Fortaleza having a population of sixty thousand. 


438 TAHENEVVSBRIAALL 


The capital is well paved and lighted and has fifteen pragas. The public buildings are 
attractive and commodious, solidly built, and centrally located. The Governor’s Palace is 
constructed with a view to the needs of atropical climate, with airy sa/as and an attractive patio 
surrounded by broad, cool verandahs. The charity hospital, or Casa da Misericordia, inaugu- 
rated, in 1862, is a handsome building, with capacity for five hundred patients. There is also 
an insane asylum, under State protection, as well as an asylum for mendicants. The college 
buildings, especially the Law Academy, founded in 1903, and the Lyceum, are well equipped 
with all necessary appurtenances, and the churches of the city present a creditable appear- 
ance. Three street car systems connect the business centre of the capital with its suburbs; 
telegraph communication links all the chief towns of the State with the capital, and, through 
it, with every State of the Union; and a complete telephone system facilitates business 
throughout the city. The Prefect, Colonel Guilherme C. da Rocha is an active, energetic, 
and progressive leader, and his efforts in behalf of the municipality are apparent in its 
many modern improvements. Other important towns of the State are Baturité, the centre 
of a rich and salubrious region; Aracaty, on the eastern bank of the Jaguaribe River, a pros- 
perous little city of thirty thousand inhabitants; Crato, Granja, Maranguape, Quixeramobin, 
and Sobral; Camocim, an excellent seaport, connected with Sobral by railway; and a number 
of smaller towns are rapidly growing in importance and population. The little town of 
Mecejana, about ten miles from the State capital, is especially honored as having been the 
birthplace of the great Brazilian dramatist and romancist, José de Alencar. 


RAILROAD BRIDGE OF ACARAHU, CEARA. 


CHAPTER XXIX 
RIO GRANDE DO NORTE 


HE State of Rio Grande do Norte occupies a 
unique position on the map of the world, 
marking the most easterly point of the continent 
of America. On the north and east, it borders 
the Atlantic Ocean, which gives it an extensive 
coast line; on the west it is bounded by Ceara, 
and on the south by Parahyba. 

No State in Brazil has made more marked in- 
dustrial progress within the past ten years than 
Rio Grande do Norte, whose people have devel- 
oped a spirit of energy and enterprise not gener- 
ally credited to the inhabitants of tropical countries. 
Though this State lies between the fifth and 
Seventh degrees south latitude, close to the equa- 
tor, its climate is so modified by the sea breeze 
and the altitude of the serras which traverse it in 
all directions that the heat is never excessive, 

MUO EON ASSEAES BEEN even in midsummer. On the coast the land is low 

and sandy, great stretches of saline deposits 

extending inland for miles along the northern shore. One hundred thousand tons of salt 

are shipped annually from this part of the State to southern ports of Brazil. The chief 

centre of the salt industry is Mossor0, situated on the river of the same name, which 

drains the western part of the State and empties into the Atlantic Ocean through an 

estuary that divides Rio Grande do Norte from Ceara. In addition to the Mossor6, the 

State is watered by the Piranhas, a broad river which has its source in the State of 

Parahyba, and after receiving the waters of numerous tributaries, crosses the two States 
439 


440 TA EMNEVW AERA 


in its course to the Atlantic. Many small streams flow eastward from the serras and empty 
into the Atlantic Ocean, the Cear4-Mirim being the most important of these. The Serra 
da Borborema, which extends 
through the eastern region, with 
its numerous spurs and _ off- 
shoots, is the principal mountain 
chain of the State, though Joao 
do Valle, Luiz Gomez, and Mar- 
tins are serras of considerable 
altitude in the west, the two 
mountain systems being divided 
by the valley of the Piranhas. 

The construction of the 
railway which now connects 
Natal, the capital of Rio Grande 
do Norte, with several important 
interior towns of the State, and, through them, with the neighboring States of Parahyba 
and Pernambuco, has greatly stimulated commercial activity; and industrial development is 
showing constant advancement under the improved conditions which better transportation 
facilities have brought about. Not only has the railway contributed to the “new awaken- 
ing,” but the completion of the port works of the capital has placed this city on the highway 
of ocean traffic, and steamers of the Lloyd-Brazileiro and other lines,—which formerly 
anchored far out to avoid the turbulent surf that dashed over all barriers and made disem- 
barkation during some parts of the year almost an impossibility,—now enter the port and 
unload alongside the new docks. 

The enterprising spirit which reigns in every part of Brazil is particularly noticeable, as 
has already been remarked, in this State, which, though always advanced in social and 
educational matters, has not hitherto been conspicuous for industrial and commercial 
progress, a fact easily explained by the difficulties that had to be overcome before railway 
communication was established and ocean traffic encouraged to seek its ports. Now, the 
conditions are exceptionally favorable for a rapid increase of wealth and prosperity. The 
government has devoted especial attention to the improvement of the interior districts of 
the State, which, a few years ago, suffered from a severe drouth. In order to provide against 
a recurrence of the disaster and to insure protection to the inhabitants of the dry zone, plans 
have been adopted for the sinking of artesian wells, the building of dams and reservoirs, and 
other enterprises designed to improve existing conditions. Premiums are also paid by the 
government to citizens who construct reservoirs, artesian wells, etc., on their properties. 

New railways are under construction to connect the remote interior with the coast, so 
that the industrial districts may be placed within easy communication with the best markets. 
The Ceara-Mirim and other railways will carry the products of the interior to the seaport, 


RUA SENADOR JOSE BONIFACIO, NATAL. 


RIO GRANDE DO NORTE 441 


and lines are being built to cross the State and reach the serfoes of the west. The chief 
railway now in operation belongs to the Great Western of Brazil and comprises one hundred 


CONVENT OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY, VILLA DE ESTREMOZ. 


and fifty miles within the State, extending from Natal on the east coast, to Guarabira on the 
southern boundary, and passing through the towns of Sao José de Mipibu, Nova Cruz, and 
others. In this region the cultivation of sugar and cotton yields an important revenue, 
while @arther inland are fine pasture lands. The soil and climate of the serra makes this 
part of the State particularly adapted to cattle raising and the dairy industry, though neither 
of these interests has been thoroughly exploited. Immigration is desirable, not only to 
provide the labor necessary to conduct enterprises of great magnitude, but also to establish 
communities that will develop the resources of the State permanently and satisfactorily. At 
present, the chief wealth is derived from sugar cane and cotton in the eastern coast district, 
essential oils, resins, medicinal plants, and the products of the carnauba tree in the sertées, 
and cattle raising on the serras. The area of Rio Grande do Norte is thirty thousand square 
miles, and its population half a million. The value of the products exported annually 
through the capital amounts to nearly a million dollars gold. 

Under the administration of Dr. Antonio José de Mello Souza, who succeeded Dr. Augusto 
Tavares de Lyra as governor when the latter was called to the cabinet of President Affonso 
Penna, the progress of the State has continued to reflect the liberal and judicious policy of a 
government which seeks to promote its development socially, industrially, and commercially. 
The governor is chosen every four years, the newly elected executive, whose inauguration 
will take place in 1908, being Dr. Alberto Maranhao, known as a statesman not only in his 
own State, but in the highest councils of the nation. 


442 THE NEW BRAZIL 


In educational advancement Rio Grande do Norte has always held its own among the 
States of Brazil, the people taking especial pride in their schools and charitable institutions. 
Within recent years the school system has been reorganized, and primary instruction now 
receives more attention than ever. Public sentiment is now favoring the children of the 
poor with advantages in early education equal to those enjoyed by the well-to-do. 

The capital and chief seaport of Rio Grande do Norte is Natal, situated on the east coast 
near the mouth of the Rio Grande do Norte, or North River, which is formed by the con- 
fluence of the Potengy and the Jundiahy rivers. Natal has a population of twenty-five 
thousand and is divided into two sections, or bairros: the upper city, where many of the 
public buildings are located, and the riverside, or Ribeira, the commercial centre, in which 
are the custom house, warehouses, importing establishments, etc. The city has several 
churches, some of which have historic as well as architectural interest, convents, an 
excellent hospital,—the Santa Casa da Misericordia,—theatres, public gardens, clubs, and 
other institutions. The Commercial Association of Natal is an enterprising corporation 
which was organized some years ago for the purpose of promoting the industries and trade 
of the State. Through its efforts, seconding those of the government, agricultural and 
manufacturing interests have been advanced, and the number of spinning and cotton 
factories, sugar mills, and similar enterprises have greatly increased. 

Natal was founded in the sixteenth century by Jeronymo de Albuquerque, and it was 
the scene of some of the most interesting episodes in the early history of Brazil. One 
of the most celebrated heroes of the war against the Dutch, in the early part of the seven- 
teenth century was a son of Rio Grande do Norte, the Indian Camardo; and some of the 
greatest men of the empire as well as leaders in political and intellectual activity under 
the present government were born in the old capital, which, however, is rapidly losing its 
antiquated features under the influence of modern energy and enterprise. 


QUARTEL, NATAL. 


GHAPTER XAXX 
PARAHYBA AND SERGIPE 


li the coast tropical region, which extends 

from the mouth of the Amazon to the 
Tropic of Capricorn, the natural resources are 
even more abundant than in the Amazon coun- 
try. From Ceara eastward and southward the 
flat, low plain which lies along the coast, really 
constituting an extension of the Amazon basin, 
gradually vanishes, becoming merely a narrow 
strip of land, from which the country slopes 
up to the region of the plateaus. In the low- 
lands are cultivated sugar, rice, cocoa, fruits, 
etc.; on the plateaus, cotton and tobacco thrive, 
and there are particularly good pasture lands, 
the climate being similar to that of Australia. 

Parahyba is one of the chief cotton grow- 
ing States of Brazil. Its climate is generally 
hot and dry, though tempered by sea breezes. In the interior the conditions are favorable 
for cattle raising, and, near the coast, cotton, sugar, and cereals are extensively grown. The 
southern part of the State is watered by the river Parahyba do Norte, and the western sec- 
tion by the Rio das Piranhas and its tributaries. The Serra da Borborema divides the river 
basins of these waterways. The capital city, Parahyba, is situated on a hill overlooking the 
estuary of the Parahyba River, and connected with its seaport, Cabedello, by railway. It has 
several attractive public buildings, among others the State president’s palace, municipal 
buildings, and many churches. The heavily thatched straw huts of Cabedello give this little 
port a distinctively tropical appearance. The Conde d’Eu railway connects the capital with 
the principal interior towns, and, through them, with the adjoining States of Pernambuco 
on the south and Rio Grande do Norte on the north. This railway is a part of the system 
443 


ey 


* 9 ge aE 


a 


INTERIOR OF CARMO CHURCH, PARAHYBA. 


444 THE NEW BRAZIL 


leased by the Federal government to the Great Western of Brazil Company. Other lines of 
railway have been projected, some of them being already under construction, to extend from 


PALACE OF THE GOVERNOR, ARACAJU. 


the capital to the sertdo in the western part of the State. Besides Parahyba and its seaport, 
there are several towns of growing importance: Areia, Cajazeiras, Mamanguape, Sousa, 
Pombal, and Campina Grande. Parahyba is noted as the birthplace of Brazil’s greatest 
painter, Pedro Americo. The State occupies part of the territory which was originally 
bestowed by the king of Portugal on Pero Lopes de Sousa, under the name of the capitania 
of Itamaraca, and which was first permanently settled by the Portuguese in 1586. It was 
the battleground of many engagements in the war against the Dutch, and, later, was the 
Scene of political contests in 1817 and in 1824, when the North became involved in an 
attempt to establish “The Confederation of the Equator.” Since the inauguration of the 
republic, Parahyba has made considerable progress in industrial activity and commercial 
importance. 

Sergipe is the smallest of the Brazilian States, covering an area of fifteen thousand 
Square miles, but it is very productive, has a good climate, and supports four hundred 
and fifty thousand inhabitants. The land lying along the coast is low and sandy, while 
in the interior it is elevated, drained by numerous rivers, and wonderfully fertile in agri- 
cultural products, especially sugar and cotton, while the sertaéo of the west provides pasture 
for large herds of cattle. The annual exports of Sergipe amount to two million dollars 
in value. 

The government is under the direction of the executive, legislative, and judiciary 
powers, as in all the States of the Union. The president, Dr. Guilherme Campos, is an 
able and experienced executive who has done much toward developing the progress of his 


PARAHYBA AND SERGIPE 445 


State in every way. More attention is given to educational matters than ever before, and 
public improvements have been inaugurated in every part of the State. A railway is 
under construction to connect 
the State capital, Aracaju, with 
Larangeiras on the line of the 
Timb6é and Propria_ railway, 
which is being built from the 
State of Bahia across Sergipe 
to the Sado Francisco River. The 
Larangeiras branch will also be< 
extended inland to the indus- 
trial centres of Lagarto and 
Simao. Dias. 

Aracaju, the State capital, 
is a city of twenty-five thou- 
sand inhabitants, situated on CATHEDRAL, ARACAJU. 
the coast at the mouth of the 
Cotinguiba River. It is a typical town of the tropics, set in a background of towering 
trees and adorned with beautiful pragas, or public gardens, in which the gorgeous hues 
of tropical flowers and foliase may be seen in all their splendor. The streets are broad, 
straight, and well paved, and the public buildings are of solid construction and harmonious 
architecture. The president’s palace occupies a beautiful location overlooking the prin- 
cipal praga. Among the more important institutions are the charity hospital of Nossa 
Senhora da Conceic¢do, the Atheneu Sergipense, which was inaugurated in 1871, the Gabi- 
nete de Leitura, Normal School, and several churches of historic interest. The cotton mills 
are among the noted features of the State. The principal towns are found in the districts 
where the cotton and sugar industries are chiefly developed. Sao Christovdo lies a few 
miles south of Aracaju, on the coast, near the mouth of the Irapiranga River, the largest 
waterway of the State. In the north several flourishing towns are situated on the Sdo 
Francisco River, Propria, Villa Nova, and Curral de Pedras being the shipping ports of a rich 
agricultural region. Larangeiras, Riachuelo, Santa Luzia, Estancia, and Maroim are important 
centres of the sugar industry. 

The history of this State is contemporary with that of Bahia, as the territory now 
known as Sergipe was a part of the capitania of Bahia, granted by King Jodo III. to Francisco 
Pereira Coutinho in 1534. The earliest settlement was made at Sao Christovam in 1590, 
though it was sacked and destroyed by the Dutch under the celebrated Van Schoppe in 1637. 
The Portuguese regained possession of the territory a few years later, but it was the scene 
of continued warfare until the final retirement of the Dutch in 1640. Sergipe was made an 
independent capitania in 1820 in recognition of the aid its people gave the king in quelling 
the revolution in Pernambuco. With the establishment of the empire the capitania became 


446 THE NEW BRAZIL 


a province, having as its first president General Fernandes da Silveira, who was elected to 
office in 1824. In 1855 the site of the capital was changed from Sado Christovado to the 
present city of Aracaju, and from that time’ the progress of the province advanced more 
notably than during any previous period. The news of the proclamation of the republic 
arrived at Aracaju on the 17th of November, 1889, during the presidency of Dr. Thomaz 
Rodrigues da Cruz, and a junta was at once formed, which received the adherence of the 
municipal chambers of the province and governed until the appointment of an executive; 
a constitution was promulgated by the State Assembly in 1892, Dr. José Calasans being 
elected the first governor of the new State. The philosopher and poet, Tobias Barreto, and 
the famous orator, José Goncalves Barroso, were natives of Sergipe. 


COTTON MILLS, SERGIPE. 


CHAPTER XXXl 


PERNAMBUCO 


LTHOUGH one of the smaller States of Brazil, 
Pernambuco covers an area of fifty thousand 
Square miles, and is as large as the State of New York 
in the United States. Nowhere does the glowing sun 
of the tropics shed its radiance more brightly than 
upon the fruitful forests and fields of this favored 
zone, drawing from the rich greens of the luxuriant 
foltage their deepest tones, and bathing the gorgeous 
blossoms in a flood of dazzling brilliance. Under the 
bluest of skies the fair land smiles in the midst of the 
rich treasures that Nature has bestowed with lavish 
abundance. 

Situated on the coast in the most fertile region 
of the tropics, and extending inland for a distance of 
more than five hundred miles, Pernambuco is divided 
into three natural zones: the matta, or wooded region 
of the coast; the agreste or catinga of the higher mid- 
dle zone, covered with shrubs and bushes, like those 
which grow in the coast regions of the Mediterranean ; 
and the sertdo, or “backwoods,” still farther inland, where, along the water courses, are 
large cattle ranges, though the pasturage is more abundant in the catinga region. The 
sertao of Pernambuco is especially noted for its precious gums, essential oils, and aromatic 
herbs; here also grows the wonderful carnattba tree, which is proof against the severest 
drouths; its roots have the same medicinal effect as sarsaparilla; the terminal bud, when 
young, is used as a food, and also to make wine, vinegar, and starch; the fruit of the tree is 
savory and the seed produces a useful oil; from the stem a kind of flour is made, and the 
dried fibrous bark yields a material that is used in making hats, brooms, baskets, etc.; 
447 


DR. SIGISMUNDO ANTONIO GONCALVES. 
GOVERNOR OF PERNAMBUCO. 


448 THE NEW BRAZIL 


the leaves are pressed to produce a kind of candle wax. Not only in Pernambuco but 
throughout the sertdes of all the northern States, this valuable tree is an important source 
of revenue. 

The State is drained by the northern tributaries of the great Sao Francisco river, which 
forms part of its southern boundary, and by the Capiberibe, Serinhaem, Pirangy, and other 
small streams that flow into the Atlantic. The northern boundary is marked by a chain of 
Serras which divides Pernambuco from Parahyba and Ceara; to the west another mountain 
range Separates the State from that of Piauhy; to the south are the States of Bahia and 
Alagoas, while the eastern boundary is marked by the Atlantic Ocean. The most fertile 
agricultural lands lie in the coast region, which is low and flat and especially adapted to the 
culture of rice and sugar; about fifteen miles inland the land becomes hilly, and is more 
Suitable for the growth of tobacco, coffee, and cotton; on the extensive tablelands that 
cover the remote interior, cattle raising is the chief industry. Sugar is the most important 
source of revenue to the State. At one time, it constituted the principal article of export 
from Brazil, and the outlook is favorable for a future of great prosperity for this industry. 
The government is paying especial attention to its development and recently appropriated a 
large sum of money to be used in introducing new processes of sugar culture and in 
improving the methods of refining the sugar. Three hundred million pounds of sugar are 
produced in the State annually, the amount of cane treated in the two thousand factories 
that are established in the sugar-growing districts being estimated at three million tons. 
About fifty of the sugar factories are installed with modern machinery, operated by steam 
and hydraulic power, the remainder being chiefly the old-fashioned sugar mills, worked on 
primitive plans; though within the past few years the introduction of new machinery has 
been constantly increasing. The sugar plantations cover extensive areas, and are traversed 
by private railways, which carry the cane from the fields to the factory, and transport the 
manufactured product to the nearest station to be taken on a through line to the seaport. 
Three hundred miles of these private railways connect the plantations with the Great 
Western of Brazil system, which includes the most important lines of the State. 

Although sugar is the staple product of Pernambuco, yet its cotton industry is of 
considerable importance, the exports of this commodity being greater from this State than 
from any other part of Brazil. The amount produced annually has more than doubled 
within the past three years, the export in 1904 being four million seven hundred and 
sixty-one thousand eight hundred and eighty-five kilograms, while in 1905 it amounted 
to nine million three hundred and fifty-two thousand two hundred and sixty-seven kilo- 
grams, and last year exceeded ten million kilograms. The southern States of North 
America are the only strong competitors in the European cotton market, the State of Texas 
alone producing eight hundred million kilograms annually in a territory five times larger 
than that of Pernambuco. 

The agricultural possibilities of the State have not been fully developed, owing to a 
tendency to confine all effort to the culture of one or two products, such as sugar and 


PERNAMBUCO 449 


cotton, which grow with little labor and bring good prices in the market. But the awakening 
of the whole nation to a new sense of its importance in the commercial world, and to the 
responsibilities devolving on a people who control such vast natural resources as belong to 
this country, has stimulated enterprise and endeavor in every State, and the result is seen 
more conspicuously every year in the industrial statistics. In Pernambuco, a greater variety 
of products is grown this year than ever before, and in increased quantities. Rice promises 
to be an important source of revenue, as the culture of this product receives the attention it 
merits, the harvest showing improved conditions every year. Tobacco grows well in many 
localities; and cinnamon, indigo, and other exotic plants, which were propagated from the 
Specimens grown in the Botanical Garden of Olinda during the eighteenth century, are 
cultivated to a sufficient extent to form important articles of export. From the same source 
originated many of the fruits that are now shipped from Pernambuco. The pineapple of 
this region is particularly noted for its delicious flavor, which is superior to that of any other 
locality. The mango is also found here in excellent quality; it is not a fruit that lends itself 
readily to zsthetic preparation by the fastidious, presenting many difficulties in the process 
of paring and eating its juicy, fibrous, cling-stone conglomerate, but the Brazilians know 
how to serve it in the best style. Itamaracga, separated from the mainland by a narrow 


PUBLIC SQUARE, SETE DE SETEMBRO. 


strait, and lying a few miles north of Recife, is famous for the abundance and fine flavor of 
its mangoes. Oranges, bananas, grapes, and cajii also comprise fruits in the production 
of which the State has acquired an enviable celebrity. 


450 THE NEW BRAZIL 


The customs’ receipts at the port of Pernambuco amount annually to five million dollars. 


The facilities for foreign trade are unsurpassed, as this port is nearer to Europe than any 


other point on the American continent, 
and ships from every part of the globe 
call here to receive and discharge mer- 
chandise. All the large transatlantic 
vessels that ply between Europe and 
South America call at the port of Per- 
nambuco, and the Lloyd-Brazileiro 
steamers—both the Rio and New York 
and the Coast lines—have an impor- 
tant trade here. A local enterprise, the 
Pernambuco Navigation Company, has 
ten steamers engaged in the coast 
service, the northern line carrying 
passengers and merchandise between 
Pernambuco and Ceara, while the 
southern line trades between Pernam- 
buco and Bahia. Monthly trips are 
made by steamers of this company to 
the island of Fernando de Noronha, 
which is situated off the northwestern 
coast, about a hundred miles from the 
capital. A national penal settlement is 
AN IMPORTANT BUSINESS STREET IN PERNAMBUCO. established here, and the island is a 
source of revenue to the government 

through its valuable phosphate deposits. The island is fortified and furnished with heavy guns 
for protective purposes. Frequent voyages are also made to Mandaos and Santos. An average 
of a thousand vessels call at this port every year. The Federal government intends to improve 
the port works of Pernambuco, engineers having been engaged to dredge the channel between 
the mainland and the great recéfe, or reef, which forms a natural breakwater in front of the port. 
The approach to the “Brazilian Venice,” as the city of Pernambuco is called because 

of its dividing canals, is guarded by a magnificent natural reef of coralline origin; the busy 
little builders having abandoned their labor when the surface of the water was reached, the 
interstices of the beautiful fabric became choked with sand and broken shells, which, in 
time, growing incorporated with the reef itself, have given the structure its present appear- 
ance of rough sandstone. The reef, from which the city takes its name, “ Recife,” extends, 
at a distance of about five hundred feet from the shore, along the whole front of the city 
and for several miles beyond, making it a safe anchorage for ships. At all times, the harbor 
is a busy scene, and its picturesque features are enhanced by the peculiar appearance of 


PERNAMBUCO 451 


some of the small craft plying in and out among the more important vessels; the curious 
little “jangadas,” which look like tiny rafts with huge sails, are particularly interesting, the 
astonishing size and nature of the cargoes intrusted to their seeming frailty giving a shock 
to the uninitiated, though their experienced managers find no cause for alarm even when 
the surf drenches the raft and the wind violently lashes the sails, seeming to threaten 
instant destruction. The jangada is a feature of the maritime delivery system of the coast 
trade in these parts. 

The chief industrial centres of the interior are connected with the seaport by several 
lines of railways, chiefly under the management of the Great Western of Brazil Railway 
Company, which leased them from the government in 1904. Since that time they have 
been greatly extended, and various improvements have been inaugurated, especially the 
Southern, the Central, and the Recife and Sao Francisco lines. As a result of the work 
already accomplished, through traffic is now carried on between Maceio, the capital of 
Alagoas, which lies south of Pernambuco, and Natal, the capital of Rio Grande do Norte, on 
the northern boundary of Brazil, covering a distance of six hundred miles. It is the inten- 
tion of the Brazilian government to construct a chain of railways along the coast from the 
Amazon to La Plata, as well as to establish complete rail connection with the interior of its 
vast domain; and the gigantic undertaking is being carried out by various companies 


RAMOS QUAY. 


working in different parts of the country. In addition to the railways already mentioned, 
there are several shorter lines and suburban systems which connect the capital with its 
picturesque environs. 


452 LOE ONEWS BRAZIL 


The capital of the State is one of the most interesting cities of the New World, both 
on account of its extraordinary history and its peculiar construction. It consists of four 
sections, Recife being the name particularly given to the commercial part of the city, which 


SANTA ISABEL BRIDGE, PERNAMBUCO. 


is divided from the other three by the channels of the Beberibe and Capibaribe rivers, 
which further divide the two sections of Santo Antonio and Sado José, on the island of 
Antonio Vaz, from the quarter of Boa Vista on the mainland. 

The different parts of the city are connected by handsome bridges which give it an 
attractiveness that is entirely distinct from that of other Brazilian cities. In addition to the 
commercial features of the Recife section, there are several fine old churches and a number 
of pragas that beautify it. The Praca do Commercio, on the “Lingueta,” as the extreme 
end of the peninsula is called, is particularly interesting in appearance and general character. 
It is the Wall Street of stockbrokers and capitalists; the market of hucksters; the favorite 
stamping-ground of traders; the resort of idlers, and the popular haunt of political aspirants. 
Nothing is of either too great or too little importance for a place on the Lingueta, whether it 
be the arrival of a world-wide celebrity or the final escape of an abused cur; the loss of 
money, jewels, children, or friends is never an assured fact until a barren search of the 
Lingueta proves it to be so. In the beautiful quarter of Santo Antonio, formerly Mauritz- 
Stadt, is situated the Governor’s Palace, overlooking a spacious park. It is built on the site 
of the palace that was occupied by Prince Maurice de Nassau, when the Dutch ruled 


PERNAMBUCO 453 


northern Brazil. At a short distance away are the handsome buildings of the Municipal 
Chambers, the theatre, the Archzological and Geographical Institute, the Normal School and 
the Lyceum, the Casa da Misericordia, and the war arsenal, a number of large churches 
and schools, and the umbrageous gardens of the Campo das Princezas and Praga Dom 
Pedro II. In Sao José are many of the public works, railroad stations, the public market, 
and several historic churches. Boa Vista is the favorite residence quarter of the capital, and 
the location of the higher colleges, hospitals, and asylums. The population of the city is 
about two hundred thousand. It ranks fifth among Brazilian cities, and has the advantages 
of such modern improvements as electric and gas lighting facilities, good waterworks 
system, drainage, street car service, and telegraph and telephone communication. The 
cable service of Pernambuco is exceptionally fine, connecting the cities of South America 
with every part of the world. It has no less than ten cable lines to foreign parts. A few 
miles from the city, in a mountainous district, watered by the Beberibe River, and connected 
with the capital by a railroad, lies the picturesque old city of Olinda, ‘“‘the beautiful,” as the 
name implies. 

Previous to the Dutch conquest, the city of Olinda, which is now the principal suburb 
of the State capital, was the centre of wealth and fashion in Brazil, and its university was 
the chief seat of learning in America. The Dutch invaders destroyed this city, though their 
governor, Maurice de Nassau, who established his colonial capital at Mauritzstadt, devoted 
particular attention to the intellectual development of the country, inviting the leading 
scholars and artists of Europe to visit his Brazilian possessions, and bestowing liberal 
patronage upon institutions for educational advancement. The influence of Maurice de 
Nassau’s government was beneficial from this standpoint, and no doubt contributed to 
make Pernambuco the progressive State that it is, and always has been, intellectually. 
Education receives especial consideration, fourteen per cent of the total disbursements 
of the State being applied to purposes of public instruction. The Law School of Pernam- 
buco is one of the most important educational institutions of Brazil, and among its graduates 
are some of the most distinguished scholars and statesmen of the republic. Senator 
Francisco Rosa e Silva, one of the political leaders of the State and author of the national 
elections reform bill which has recently gone into effect, and Dr. Epitacio Pessoa, Minister of 
Justice in the cabinet of President Campos-Salles, were graduated from the Pernambuco Law 
School. The Arts and Trades Lyceum is a flourishing institution, conducted on the same 
principle as the Arts and Trades Schools of Rio, Sao Paulo, Minas, Bahia, and other cities. 
It occupies a handsome building in which day and night classes are taught the mechanical 
and liberal arts free of charge. The museum and library of the Lyceum contain valuable 
Scientific collections. The Gymnasium, the College of Engineering, the Commercial College, 
and the State Normal School are also among the more important educational institutions 
maintained by public and private enterprise. The State and municipalities maintain six 
hundred primary and secondary schools, and in addition to these, instruction is given in 
numerous private schools. 


454 THE NEW BRAZIL 


The educational progress of the State is due in a large measure to the efforts of the 
government, Dr. Sigismundo Antonio Gongalves, the chief executive, being particularly in- 
terested in this branch of the administration. A graduate of the Law School of Pernambuco, 
and formerly chief judge of the State tribunal, Dr. Gongalves has made a careful study of 
social questions, especially as related to education. The intellectual advancement of the State 
is due not only to the liberal methods of the administration, but also to the public-spirited 
efforts of its leading men, to whom various educational institutions owe a great measure of 
their success. By the organization of the Archzeological and Geographical Institute of Per- 
nambuco, distinguished scholars have lent valuable aid to the government in collecting 
important material relating to the history of the State. The library of the Institute contains 
five thousand volumes, and furnishes in the form of documents, pictures, and interesting 
relics, a complete record. The largest library of the State is that of the government, con- 
taining some forty thousand volumes, though the Law College and the Gabinete Portuguez 
de Leitura have well-selected libraries of twenty thousand volumes or more, while some 
private collections are of great value. . 

Charitable institutions are maintained by the government and by church societies. 
The city hospital for nearly half a century has served as an asylum for the invalid. Several 
new hospitals have since been built, and asylums for the poor and the insane have been 
added to the State’s charities, which expand as the need arises for increased accommodation. 

Travellers who visit Pernambuco are charmed with the hospitality of the people, their 
cosmopolitan interests, and the many pleasing features of their social customs. Life is not 
such a “rough-and-tumble” fight for the necessaries as it is in less favored climates, and 
consequently there is more leisure for real enjoyment in the observance of social amenities. 


HALL OF CONGRESS, PERNAMBUCO. 


CHAPTER XXXlIl 


ALAGOAS° 


@)REE forming a part of the original 

capitania of Pernambuco, the present 
State of Alagoas has had an important share 
in the social and political development of 
the northern coast region of Brazil, and has 
been the scene of many patriotic struggles 
in the nation’s history, its people being 
noted for their independent and freedom- 
loving spirit.. Although it is one of the 
smaller States of Brazil, Alagoas covers an 
area nearly equal to that of Ireland, and is 
among the most productive of the twenty-one territorial divisions of the Union. The 
fertility of its soil is phenomenal, everything that belongs to a tropical land being grown 
here with little cultivation. 

Alagoas is traversed by several serras—low mountain ranges which form part of the great 
coast range of Brazil—and is drained by a number of small rivers flowing into the Atlantic 
and by many tributaries of the great Sdo Francisco, which forms the southern boundary, 
separating this State from Bahia and Sergipe. At the point where it turns southeastward 
between Alagoas and Bahia, the course of this river, one thousand eight hundred miles long, 
is interrupted by the stupendous waterfall known as the Cachoeira de Paulo Affonso. 

At the Sobradinha begins a succession of foaming rapids that tumble the impetuous 
~ torrent into a deep gorge walled by enormous perpendicular rocks, from which it is crowded 
over the mighty Cachoeira de Paulo Affonso. This grand waterfall is superior in height 
and volume to Niagara itself, having nearly twice the descent, though presenting a totally 
different aspect, permitting a closer view without lessening the effect of the ensemble. 

The rapids that lead from the Sobradinha to the great fall are numerous, and enclosed 
between towering walls of granite, more than a dozen being named, of which six are 


455 


RUA COMMERCIO, MACEIO. 


456 THE NEW BRAZIL 


counted within a distance of fifty miles. Before making the great fall, the river glides along 
in the midst of a labyrinth of islands, rocks, and pebbles, which at low tide may be used as 
| stepping-stones from one 
bank to the other, although 
the volume of water passing 
this point is more than a 
thousand cubic metres per 
second, while at high tide it 
is five times as great. At 
the verge of the cataract 
three islands separate the 
current, which is, however, 
united in the final plunge 
down to the abyss nearly 
three hundred feet below. 
In times of great flood this 
majestic volume of water is 
PALACE OF THE GOVERNOR, MACEIO. carried in one grand sweep 
clear to the bottom, but 
under ordinary conditions there are three cascades, the first with a fall of about fifty feet, 
the second seventy-five, and the third reaching the river-bed below. While the stupendous 
grandeur of the scene is magnified by the single fall, the picturesque beauty is enhanced by 
the graduated cataract, with its columns of spray rising like incense as it hesitates on each 
of the jutting ledges of the cliff. There is no waterfall in the world presenting a more 
marvellous variety of aspects than the Paulo Affonso. 

The great river pours out a yellow flood into the Atlantic which is colored for miles 
from its mouth, the rate of its discharge being estimated at about three thousand cubic 
metres per.second. From Piranhas, a few leagues below the cataract, to the mouth of the 
river, navigation is carried on with small steamers. Penedo is the name of the seaport, and 
ocean vessels call here regularly to receive and deliver merchandise. The scenery along 
the river is very beautiful, each curve of the channel revealing a new aspect of tropical 
luxuriance. Less pleasing is the knowledge that terrible man-eating fishes, known as 
piranhas live in this river. Though very small, they are deadly in their attacks on the 
unfortunate swimmer or capsized boatman who falls into their midst; for they go in shoals 
of thousands, and it is the combined onslaught of their long sharp teeth, set in double rows 
like those of the shark, which makes it impossible to escape. Many thrilling stories are 
related of the piranhas’ victims. 

In Alagoas, as in Pernambuco, the coast region is known as the matta, and is covered 
with tropical forests, in which are found valuable medicinal plants, hardwoods, textile fibres, 
resins, fruits, and other arboreous products. In this section are many large lakes, the most 


ALAGOAS 457 


important being A Lagoa do Norte, on which the capital of the State, Maceio, is situated. 
The name “Alagoas” is derived from this feature of the country. 

Maceio is not only the capital, but also the chief seaport and the commercial centre of 
the State. The products of the matta, of the agricultural zone, and of the cattle ranges of the 
west, are brought to Maceio 
for shipment, and railroads 
are being extended in all 
directions to place the State 
capital in close communica- 
tion with its various centres 
of industrial activity. The 
Central Alagoana railway 
connects the capital and its 
port, which is called Jara- 
gua, with the towns in the 
northern section, and joins 
the Pernambuco line at the 
boundary, forming a_ part 
of the system leased by 
the Great Western of Brazil GENERAL VIEW OE MACEIO. 

Company. A branch of this 

railway extends from Jaragua to the icity town of Vigosa. The government maintains 
another line, from Piranhas on the Sao Francisco River to Jatoba, in the State of Pernambuco, 
constructed for transportation purposes between the points where navigation is interrupted 
by the Falls of Paulo Affonso. New railways are being built from the capital to the Falls of 
Paulo Affonso, and to the northeastern boundary. 

The chief agricultural products of Alagoas are sugar and cotton, this State lying in the 
richest section of the Brazilian “cotton belt”; large quantities of dyewoods are exported 
annually, and the commerce of the State is steadily increasing. Its manufacturing indus- 
tries are gaining in importance and include sugar refineries; establishments for the manu- 
facture of vinegar; tobacco and cigar works; factories for making alcohol : cotton factories; 
pottery works; saw mills; and an increasing number of smaller factories for making shoes, 
furniture, leather, and various other articles. The exports amount to three million dollars 
gold annually, the greater part of the State revenue being derived from sugar and cotton. 
Although small in area, Alagoas is one of the most populous States of Brazil, having eight 
hundred thousand inhabitants, or thirty-two to the square mile, which is more than any 
other Brazilian State can claim, outside of the Federal district and the State of Rio. The 
governor is Dr. Euclydes Vieira Malta, a progressive and public-spirited executive. 

The State capital has a population of forty thousand and is divided into four sections, 
or bairros: Maceio is the city proper, in which are located the governor’s palace, and other 


4 


458 THE NEW BRAZIL 


public buildings as well as most of the residences; in this section are the churches, the 
theatre, the lyceum and other schools, the post office, market, etc. Jaragua, the seaport, 
connected by street car with Maceio, is the commercial section, where the docks, the custom 
house, consular agencies, importing houses, and banks are to be found. Levada and Jacu- 
tinga are residence suburbs; in the former are located the insane asylum, the cemetery, and 
the military quartel. The schools and charitable institutions of the capital, and throughout the 
State, are maintained as liberally as funds will allow. Within the past few years primary school 
methods have been greatly improved and the average attendance has considerably increased. 
The colleges of Maceio and Penedo, the Normal Schools, and the Lyceums of Arts and Crafts 
in various towns are well attended. The Instituto Alagoano is one of the most important edu- 
cational institutions of the State. It was founded in 1901, as a boarding and day school, its 
curriculum being the same as that of the National Gymnasium and the Lyceum of Alagoas. 

The oldest institution of its kind in Alagoas is the Archzological and Geographical Institute, 
which was founded in 1869, for the purpose of collecting historical documents and preserving 
ancient monuments, inscriptions, etc., found in the State, as well as to encourage literary and 
Scientific research. Some valuable fossils have been secured through the activity of the Insti- 
tute, and have been placed in the National Museum of Rio. The library of the Institute, as 
well as the Public Library of Maceio, contains an important collection of volumes relating to the 
history and geography of Brazil, and having especial bearing on Alagoas, many of which have 
been donated by public-spirited men of wealth or bequeathed by scientists of the State. 

Alagoas has given many great leaders to Brazil,—soldiers, statesmen, and men of letters. 
Marshal Floriano Peixoto was a native of this State, also Tavares Bastos, one of the most 
noted orators and writers of the empire, Dr. Mello Moraes, the eminent historian, Ladislao 
Netto, the great naturalist, and others whose life-work has made their names famous in 
Europe as well as in Brazil. 


BUSINESS STREET, MACEIO 


THE ‘LIBRARY 
OF THE 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 


“ALIO UdddN FHL WOUs MIA “VIHVd 


MONUMENT DOIS DE JULHO. 


CHAPTER XXXIlII 
BAHIA 


HE same benign destiny that directed the ships of Pedro 
Alvares Cabral to the shores of Brazil led to his disem- 
barkation at a point where nature had showered upon the earth 
the greatest abundance of her blessings. Unlike the Puritan 
Settlers who landed a century later on the bleak coast of New 
England, the discoverers of the “Island of the True Cross” and 
their successors agreed in declaring that they had found a para- 


dise on earth. 

It was about a year after the first dis- 
covery of Brazil that the Portuguese fleet, 
accompanied by Americus Vespucius, and 
commanded by Christovao Jacques, entered 
the magnificent harbor of Bahia, which was 
named by the discoverers, in honor of the 
feast day on which it was first seen, ‘‘ Bahia 
de Todos os Santos” [Bay of All Saints]. The 
settlement of the new territory began a few 
years later, and the present city of Bahia was 
founded in 1549, thirty-five years earlier than 
the foundation of St. Augustine, the oldest 
city in the United States of America. Bahia 
was the chief seat of colonial power from 


1549 to 1762, and during that time was the official residence of all the high functionaries 
representing the crown: the governor-general, the ovvidor, the supervisor of the exchequer, 
and the capitao-mor, or overseer of the coast. When the colonial capital was transferred 
to Rio de Janeiro in 1762, the progress of Bahia was not retarded by the change, develop- 
ment being rapid and uninterrupted everywhere in the territory, which even at that day 


461 


462 THE NEW BRAZIL 


had a world-wide commercial importance as the centre of rich mineral wealth and of great 
agricultural resources. 

The State of Bahia enjoys many natural advantages. It has an area of nearly two 
hundred thousand square miles, with seven hundred miles of coast line, and its climate is 
generally healthful and moderate, a great extent of the territory being mountainous, with 
plateaus two thousand feet above sea level, while the whole State is intersected by magnifi- 
cent rivers that drain every part of it. On the coast the weather is warm all the year round, 
the hottest months being from December to April, when this locality is subject to malarial 
diseases; in the interior the climate is far more temperate, and fevers are unknown, the 
natural conditions being similar to those existing in the adjoining States of Goyaz, Minas 
Geraes, and Piauhy; its coast climate resembles that of Espirito Santo to the south, and 
Sergipe, Alagoas, and Pernambuco to the north. 

The State is rich in vegetation, the commercial products from this source including 
various kinds of hardwood for cabinet purposes and fancy woods; the medicinal plant 
manaca, from the leaves, roots, and stems of which a vegetable mercury is extracted; 
araroba, furnishing an excellent caustic powder, sold in England under the name of Goa 
powder; the balsam of the capahtba; and several kinds of oil, resin, and wax. The 
coquilla nut palm furnishes the fibre used in the manufacture of brushes and brooms. 
The nuts are shipped in enormous quantities to the Orient, where they are carved and 
ornamented to furnish the rosary beads and crosses sold in all parts of the world; the 
kernel of the nut yields a fine quality of lubricating oil; and from the fibre of the leaf stalks 
the brooms and ropes of commerce are made; the seeds, which are called coquilla nuts, 
grow in clusters, in a similar fashion to the banana fruit, and are three or four inches long, 
brown in color, very hard, and of sufficient thickness to be turned into various ornaments, 
such as beads and crosses, for which they are largely used. 

The agricultural industries of the State are in a flourishing condition, and the arduous 
labor that is necessary to ensure a Satisfactory harvest in less favored zones is practically 
unknown in this “smiling land.” The Sado Francisco River, with its great tributaries, drains 
all the central and western region of the State as it flows northward to the boundary 
between Bahia and Pernambuco, where it turns abruptly to the southeast, separating Bahia 
from the State of Alagoas. The valley of this river is one of the most fertile regions of the 
globe, and so enormously productive that crops are gathered year after year with hardly any 
other labor than that of planting the seed and taking in the harvest. Tobacco is produced 
in large quantities, twenty-five thousand tons being exported annually to the value of five 
million dollars gold, and the cigar and cigarette factories employ thousands of men, women, 
and children. Coffee is an important source of revenue, the receipts from this industry 
amounting to two million dollars annually. Rubber is exported in increasing quantities 
every year, the interior of the State containing vast forests with an abundance of rubber 
trees which will Yield rich harvests as soon as the difficulties of transportation have been 
overcome sufficiently to make this source of wealth available. Cotton is grown with little 


BAHIA 463 


cultivation, and the cotton factories of the State furnish employment to thousands of 
workmen. The sugar plantations are in good condition, and several refineries exist in 
various parts of the State, the revenue from this industry amounting to nearly a million 
dollars gold. 

The cultivation of cacao has prospered notably in the southern districts from Valenca to 
Alcobaga, especially in Ilhéos, Cannavieiras, and Belmonte. The nature of the plant requires 
a damp soil, containing a considerable amount of clay and having a thick layer of vegetable 
mould. The exportation of this product reaches thousands of tons, and is increasing annually. 


STREET SCENE IN THE UPPER CITY BAHIA. 


Mandioca is grown in every part of the State, chiefly for the home market, which it has 
supplied extensively ever since colonial days, when the cultivation of the product was made 
obligatory by law. The fertility of the soil guarantees the best results from the cultivation 
of all kinds of cereals, from truck gardening and fruit growing; the yield of mangoes is 
larger than that of any other State. 

Cattle and hides are shipped from Bahia in large quantities, the value of the trade in 
hides reaching half a million dollars annually. The manufactures of the State include, besides 
extensive cotton mills and tobacco works, several match factories, tanneries, saw mills, 
foundries, and other enterprises. 


464 THE NEW BRAZIL 


An important syndicate has recently been formed in this State for the purpose of pro- 
moting industrial and agricultural interests, and especially to develop the trade in textile 
fibres, which the forests of the State produce in abundance, and which, under the names of 
barbantina, cambrayna, etc., are recognized as valuable for the manufacture of woven goods, 
twine, rope, and similar articles. 

Bahia is rich in mineral resources, and new discoveries are constantly being made as 
the extension of railways through the interior leads to the opening up of hitherto unex- 
plored regions. Diamonds are found in several different sections of the State, especially 
along the course of the Rio de Contas and in the basin of the Rio Pardo, both rivers flowing 
from the coast range to the Atlantic. All the rivers that drain the coast region—which is 
divided from the interior plateaus by numerous serras that together form the great chain 
generally known as the Serra do Mar—pass through districts in which gold, copper, manga- 
nese, or precious stones have been found. Besides those already named, the Itapicurt, 
Paraguassu, Jaguaribe, and Jequitinhonha are the most important. The largest diamond 
carbonate ever found was discovered in the basin of the Rio de Contas, near the town of 
Lengoes, in 1895. It weighed more than three thousand carats, and was sold by the miner 
for twenty thousand dollars; it was afterward sent to Paris and divided into smaller stones. 
In the Rio Pardo basin are the rich diamondiferous placers of Cannavieiras, and in the 
Paraguassu are found diamonds of peculiar brilliancy though not so perfect as those of 
Cannavieiras. In. the district called Lavras Diamantinas, diamond mining is the chief 
industry, and many valuable stones have been discovered. Topazes, amethysts, beryls, 
tourmalines, aquamarines, etc., are found in abundance. Near the town of Prado in the 
southern part of the State, an American mining engineer recently found valuable deposits 
of monazite sand, rich in thorium silicate, which is now being exported in large quantities 
to Germany and Austria, where the thorium is prepared that fills an important place in 
the manufacture of incandescent lights. This sand is estimated to be worth a hundred 
dollars a ton. 

Chiefly through the efforts of the present Minister of Industry, Railways, and Public 
Works of Brazil, Dr. Miguel Calmon du Pin e Almeida, who was formerly minister of the 
Same department in the State of Bahia, a new mining law has been established in this State, 
according to which the position, rights, and duties of companies or individuals engaged in 
mining are clearly defined. The conditions under which mining may be carried on, the taxes 
to which the industry is subject, and the rights and privileges of the discoverer of new fields 
are explained so that there need be no difficulty in learning what the law requires. 

The exploitation of the mines of Bahia depends largely upon the facilities of transporta- 
tion, and not only are the diamond mines being developed more satisfactorily as railways 
are extended to reach the headquarters of this industry, but gold, manganese, copper, and 
monazite are mined with better results when within easy communication with the centres 
of trade. The principal railways of the State are: the Bahia and Sao Francisco line from the 
capital to the city of Juazeiro on the Sdo Francisco river, where it marks the boundary of 


BAHIA 465 


Pernambuco; the Bahia Central, from the State capital west to Machado Portella, in the 
mining district; the Caravellas Railway in the south, and several shorter lines. In addition 
to the railways, there are several steamship lines connecting the various ports on the coast 
and along the navigable course of the rivers. A new steamship line, the “ Navegacdo 
Bahiana,” which is subsidized by the State government, has been established for transporta- 
tion between Bahia and Pernambuco and the intermediate ports of Aracaju, Penedo, and 
Maceio. The governor of Bahia, Dr. José Marcelino de Sousa, takes especial interest in this 
line, which has added greatly to the comfort and pleasure of travel on the coast. The 
steamers are of modern construction and are elegantly fitted up for the convenience of 
passengers; many tourists find it particularly enjoyable to go by this route to visit the 
famous Paulo Affonso Falls, taking small steamers up the river from Penedo to Piranhas, 
near the foot of the cataract. The Bahia Southern covers an itinerary of three hundred 


GENERAL VIEW OF BAHIA. 


and fifty miles along the coast from the capital southward, and its steamers call regularly at 
the ports of Ilhéos, Cannavieiras, Belmonte, Santa Cruz, Porto Seguro, Prado, Alcobaca, 
Caravellas, and Sao José. A steamship line navigates the Sao Francisco River from Joazeiro 
to Pirapora, a distance of nearly a thousand miles. Steamers also ply between the city of 
Bahia and the various ports of the great bay of Todos os Santos, or All Saints. 

The Bay of All Saints is about the size of Rio Harbor, and, like that beautiful sheet of 
water, has many bright emerald “pompons” here and there, decorating its broad surface. 
Itapariga is the principal island in the bay, and its clear outlines are among the first features 
of the landscape presented within the harbor enclosure, which is protected on all sides by 
fortifications. Like a luxurious Oriental, the capital city, Bahia, is stretched out on her 
feathery couch of green, apparently enjoying her reflection in the waters below. All along 
the shore a high bluff extends, dividing the city into two parts connected by inclined rail- 
ways and electric elevators. Many beautiful suburbs increase the attractiveness of the 


466 THE NEW BRAZIL 


picture. The pretty little village of Rio Vermelho, looking directly out upon the sea, is 
especially popular among the Bahians as a place of summer residence. Romantic nooks 
and verdure-clad ravines ornament the hillocks that extend along the northern margin of the 
bay, and from the peninsula of Bomfim, on a pretty knoll of which is situated a historic 
church, a perfect view of both the harbor and the city is to be had. The city of Sado 
Salvador da Bahia, or, as it is popularly called, Bahia, is the social, educational, and com- 
mercial metropolis of the State, toward which the interests of the whole population, 
numbering throughout the State about two and a half millions, naturally gravitate, as to 
the chief centre of wealth. The city is divided into two sections,—the Cidade Baixa, or 
“lower city,” lying close to the bay, where the commercial houses, custom house, public 
markets, warehouses, the arsenals of war and marine, the post office, and several fac- 
tories are located, as well as some of the charitable institutions; and the Cidade Alia, or 
“upper city,” which is the residence section, beautified by parks, avenues, and suburban 
driveways, and particularly noted for the important public buildings located in this part 
of the capital. 

The Governor’s Palace is situated in the upper city, near the entrance to the Lacerda 
elevator, and within a few minutes’ ride of the lower city. It is a modern building of 
attractive architectural design and spacious dimensions. The Senate building and the 
municipal building occupy commanding sites in the upper city. There are nearly a hundred 
churches and church institutions, among which the Cathedral possesses particular claims to 
attention as one of the oldest buildings in America, having been originally erected as a 
Jesuit college in the sixteenth century, though rebuilt and improved at various times since. 
As stated elsewhere, several of the churches of Bahia are celebrated for their costly interiors 
as well as for their historic associations. 

Among other important public buildings is that of the Faculty of Medicine, one of the 
oldest and most noted institutions of Brazil, having been established when the Regent Dom 
Joao VI. visited Bahia in 1808. A Brazilian physician who accompanied the royal family 
was the founder of the Collegio Medico-Cirurgico, as it was originally named, the first 
lectures being delivered in the Military Hospital of Bahia. A few years later the plan of the 
institution was, by royal charter, improved and extended, and in 1832 it was given its 
present name, and installed in a suitable edifice, the course of studies being amplified and 
directed according to more strict regulations. It was not, however, until 1882 that the 
faculty began to win renown as one of the best medical institutions in South America. 
During that year it was completely reorganized by the emperor, seven new chairs were 
created, making the whole number twenty-six, new laboratories were opened, and medical 
and surgical training was inaugurated according to more practical methods than those 
hitherto employed. In 1901 a chair of bacteriology was created, and a laboratory for 
experiment in this important study was established. The curriculum is divided into twelve 
sections, which embrace every branch of medicine, and the course of study extends over six 
years, especial attention being paid to clinical lectures, which are given in the Misericordia 


BAHIA 467 


and other hospitals, as well as in the Clinic Institute of the Faculty. The building is lighted 
with electricity and equipped with all modern conveniences. 

Bahia contributes large sums annually for educational purposes, the State and munici- 
palities maintaining more than a thousand schools, of which nine hundred are devoted to 
primary instruction. The Law College, which was founded in 1891, occupies a handsome 
building in a beautiful location, and has a large average attendance. An Agricultural Insti- 
tute, located in the district of Sao Bento de Lages, at a short distance from the capital, 
provides practical training in farm management. The State Normal School, which has a 
kindergarten annexed to it, is conducted according to the best system of pedagogical 
training, and its graduates are to be found in the highest positions open to the profession. 
One of the best schools of Bahia is the Lyceum of Arts and Trades, which was founded in 


FACULTY OF MEDICINE, BAHIA 


1872; it has day and night classes, workshops for manual training, and class rooms for 
lectures. About two thousand five hundred pupils attend this school, and the course of 
instruction includes every branch of practical work. A fine library, a picture gallery, and a 
museum of architecture are at the disposal of the students, who seem to enjoy their work- 
ing hours as thoroughly as they do the intermission. They have organized a band of music 
and frequently give concerts to the public. Among other important schools are the gym- 
nasium, the ecclesiastical seminary, the Salesian College, the school of Santa Theresa, and 
many private institutions. The Public Library, which was founded in 1811 by the Count 
of Arcos, contains thirty thousand volumes and is installed in a handsome edifice. There 
is also a valuable collection of twenty thousand volumes in the Municipal Library, and 
another of about fifteen thousand volumes in the Gabinete Portuguez, besides other libraries 
belonging to colleges, convents, and clubs. 


468 THE NEW BRAZIL 


The Historical and Geographical Institute is one of the principal intellectual centres of 
the capital, which has always been famous for its brilliant scholars, poets, and statesmen. 
Castro Alves, the poet; Marquis d’Abrantes, the silver-tongued orator; Zacarias de Vascon- 
cellos, the statesman; the illustrious Viscount de Rio-Branco; Alves Branco, Gregorio de 
Mattos, Baron de Cotegipe, Nabuco de Araujo, and Agrario de Menezes, are among the 
distinguished Brazilian names in literature, statecraft, and journalism belonging to patriots 
and scholars cradled in the luxuriance which Nature lavishes with a free hand upon the 
smiling fields and forests of Bahia. 

The numerous charitable institutions of Bahia are well supported and sanitation and 
hygiene have been greatly improved within the past few years, the Central Board of Health 
having charge of the lazarettos, the disinfection department of the city service, and the 
vaccine institute. The same system of sanitation is practised in Bahia as in Rio and Sado 
Paulo, every precaution being observed in order that the capital may be kept free from 
epidemics. Misericordia Hospital, the Insane Asylum, the Military Hospital, and the Maternity 
Home are among the most important charities supported by the government. The ladies of 
Bahia have taken the greatest interest in the Maternity Home, of which Senhora Maria 
Cerquiera de Conde is the president. The poorhouse is a very attractive looking home, 
situated in the suburb of Boa Viagem, and surrounded with gardens of flowers. 

The city is beautified by many public squares, prag¢as, and largos, of which the principal 
is the Praga da Constituigdo, containing the Governor’s Palace and other administrative 
offices. In the Largo Quinze de Novembro the Cathedral is situated, also the Faculty of 
Medicine, the famous convent of Sado Francisco, and several other churches; the Nazareth 
praca, beautified by the handsome new charity hospital erected here a few years ago; the 
Praca dos Martyres; Largo Duque de Caxias, in the midst of which stands the majestic 
monument of white Carrara marble and bronze, a hundred feet in height, named Dois de 
Julho [second of July], which commemorates the date of the country’s political independ- 
ence; the Largo da Graca, where the ancient monastery of that name is situated; the square 
named for the celebrated Bahian poet, Castro Alves; the Praca do Riachuelo, with the hand- 
some edifice of the Commercial Association overlooking it, and in the centre a stately bronze 
monument on a pedestal of marble, capped with eight volutes upholding a sphere on which 
stands the figure of Victory, bearing a palm in one hand and a laurel in the other, symbolizing 
the victory of the Brazilian armies in the Paraguayan war, which the monument commem- 
orates. Surpassing all the other parks of the city in extent and luxuriance of foliage, in 
variety of attractive and entertaining accessories, and as a popular resort on feast days and 
other holidays, is the beautiful garden in the parish of Victoria, overlooking the sea, the 
Passeio Publico, which contains, among other interesting features, a magnificent marble 
monolith, set up to commemorate the opening of Brazilian ports to foreign commerce in 1808. 
Four systems of street railway traverse the city, connecting it with the picturesque suburbs 
of Rio Vermelho, Itapagipe, Barra, Plata, Forma, and Retiro. The shrine of Nosso Senhor 
do Bomfim, which attracts thousands of visitors annually, is situated in the suburb of 


BAHIA 469 


Itapagipe, on the crest of a beautiful hill overlooking the sea. The State is dotted with 
innumerable small towns and cities, rapidly growing in size and number. The principal 
cities of more than fifty thousand inhabitants are Feira de Santa Anna, especially noted for 
its cattle market; Bomfim, a thriving commercial town in territory particularly adapted to 
wine growing, cacao culture, and wheat farming; and Maragogipe, about thirty miles from 
the State capital, the centre of a rich coffee district, and of valuable mines of gold and iron. 
There are several busy little cities of twenty thousand and upward in population, such as 
Santo Amaro, situated about ten miles inland from the harbor of Bahia, and noted for its 
tobacco factories and distilleries; Alagoinhas, an important railroad terminus and the com- 
mercial centre of a large district; Cachoeira, on the bank of the Paraguasst River, not far 
from the capital, a flourishing city with cotton and spinning mills, and united by a bridge 
with the neighboring town of Sado Felix, which has one of the best cigar factories in the 
State; Jacobina, rich in gold mines and having extensive cotton fields and yerba maté plan- 
tations, and also famous for the manufacture of gotbada, or guava jelly; and Ilhéos, from 
which are exported large quantities of coffee and cacao, the surrounding territory being also 
rich in petroleum and other products. Nazareth, Valenca, Caetité, and Joazeiro, on the 
Sao Francisco River, connected by railway with the city of Bahia, and Lengoes, are pros- 
perous commercial and manufacturing towns. 

The future holds out the promise of great wealth to this prosperous and growing State, 
which now ranks fifth in the value of its export trade, the Federal district, Sdo Paulo, Ama- 
zonas, and Para being its only rivals in commercial importance. 

The city of Bahia is lighted with electricity and provided with ample means of trans- 
portation in three electric street car lines, as well as a suburban railway system between the 
city and Ondina, a seaside resort for residents of the capital New port works are under 
construction, which, when completed, will greatly facilitate trade and improve the aspect of 
the lower city, by making its landing place a more attractive feature of the otherwise 
beautiful landscape. The governor is untiring in his efforts for the progress of the State, 
and he is aided by a corps of able assistants in the secretaries of his cabinet. Bahia is the 
archiepiscopal see, His Grace Archbishop Jeronymo Thomé da Silva being head of the 
diocese. Social life is very charming in Bahia; in no city of Brazil are more beautiful 
homes to be found, and nowhere is gracious hospitality dispensed with more pleasing com- 
pliment. European custom prevails in social life to a certain extent, though the same spirit 
of New World freedom which has set its impress upon the political and commercial institu- 
tions of the country is to be observed in a growing tendency toward social emancipation. 
It is no longer forbidden to ladies to go shopping or visiting unattended; and even young 
ladies are sometimes seen alone on the streets, though the chaperon system Is so thoroughly 
rooted in the social life of all Latin nations that changes in this respect are necessarily con- 
servative. Nothing can be more delightful than the social occasions graced by the presence 
of representative Bahian society. The little téte-d-tétes between dances, that so greatly 
facilitate the archery of Cupid in North American drawing rooms, are almost unknown in 


470 THE NEW BRAZIL 


Brazil; yet eyes may speak the universal language of youth and love regardless of the 
tongue’s limitation, so that these gatherings are always in favor with the young people, 
particularly as the opportunity for mutual converse is even still more restricted in the quiet 
home circle, where the whole family must share the secret of every expression. Among 
the poorer classes the flesfa is the great opportunity for social display, and to the visitor the 
scenes that attend these anniversaries are particularly captivating for their unique charm. 
Bahia possesses many Social characteristics sw generis, and in this respect also it is like the 
Crescent City of North America. The city has a population of two hundred and fifty 
thousand inhabitants. 


SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS, BAHIA. 


CHAPTER XXXIV 
ESPIRITO SANTO 


N few States of the Brazilian Union are the 
natural conditions more favorable for indus- 
trial development than in Espirito Santo, which 
lies just north of the State of Rio, east of Minas 
Geraes, and south of Bahia. Occupying a strip 
of fertile land along the coast, two hundred and 
fifty miles long and eighty miles wide, it is 
capable of yielding all the products of a tropical, 
and, on the plateau of the interior, many of those 
of semi-tropical and even temperate zones. In 
the northern and eastern parts of the State are 
flat plains covered with luxuriant vegetation and 
having innumerable small lakes and marshes, on 
the borders of which grow various palms, myr- 
tles, and cacti. Beyond this low land, which 
skirts the coast line as far south as the Rio Doce, 
POR ce ee aN et IN IS! dividing the State into two regions, extend high 
PRESIDENT OF ESPIRITO SANTO. serras branching off from the main chain of the 
Mantiquiera and taking various names in different 

sections. The climate is moist and very warm along the coast, but agreeable in the 
interior, where the thermometer never registers above twenty-four degrees nor below six 
degrees centigrade, and it is generally healthful. The forests supply the most valuable 
woods of commerce, such as rosewood; the peroba, much used in cabinet work and in 
shipbuilding; the genipapo, a very elastic wood of a peculiar lilac color; the dapicuri, 
having the appearance of rosewood seamed with yellow fibres; and many other varieties 
for general building purposes. The soil is particularly adapted to the cultivation of coffee, 


sugar, cotton, cereals, mandioca, cacao, and fruits. The State is abundantly watered, being 
471 


472 | THE NEW BRAZIL 


traversed by the Rio Doce, a large river that rises near Ouro Preto, in the neighboring 
State of Minas Geraes and is noted for the gold, precious stones, and diamond-bearing 


VICTORIA, CAPITAL OF THE STATE OF ESPIRITO SANTO. 


gravel found in its upper streams; by the Itauna, San Domingos, and San Matheus in the 
north, and by the Timbuhy, Santa Maria, Jucu, Itapemirim, Itabapoana, and smaller rivers, 
with their tributaries, in the middle and southern regions. 

Although the agricultural possibilities of the State have not been fully developed, owing 
chiefly to lack of population, yet the principal industries, coffee growing and sugar culture, 
produce large revenues. This little State ranks third in the Union in the quantity of coffee 
which it ships annually to foreign ports, amounting to nearly half a million bags, the 
greater part consigned to the United States. The culture of sugar cane is one of the most 
productive industries, and rice growing promises to be a valuable source of revenue, the 
only drawback being in the lack of sufficient laborers to till the ground and gather in 
the harvests. The State has now two hundred and ten thousand inhabitants, though its 
fertile soil could easily support ten times that population. 

In accordance with the economic policy announced by the President on the occasion 
of his inauguration, the government is devoting especial attention to the extension of 
railways, the construction of good roads, and to those public improvements which tend 
to encourage immigration of the most desirable character. The first colonies in the State 
were introduced during the time of the empire, when, in 1856, Santa Leopoldina was 
established on the banks of the Santa Maria River, Transylvania on the Rio Doce, and, later, 
Cachoeiro, Timbuhy, and Santa Cruz. All these colonies, as well as others more recently 
established, are in a prosperous condition. 


ESI GARC) SVAVKIEO) 473 


A Board of Public Lands and Colonization, under the supervision of the Department of 
Public Works of the State, has charge of all matters relating to immigration and the appor- 
tionment of lands to national and foreign settlers. It is the especial duty of this Board to 
promote colonization through suitable propaganda, and to arrange for the reception of 
immigrants and for their transportation to the locality for which they are bound. Under 
the name of Hospedaria Central, an immigrant’s hotel has been established at Pedra d’Agua, 
and placed in charge of an administrador, or manager, and his assistants, a physician, an 
interpreter, clerks, and guards, who attend to the needs of the newcomers, and give them 
information about the country, etc.; the physician is required to inspect vessels carrying 
immigrants and to report to the Board the sanitary condition of the ships and their pas- 
Sengers before disembarkation is permitted. A list of the names of all immigrants is made 
on their arrival by clerks employed for this purpose, and necessary information is secured 
regarding their antecedents and their proposed destination. The interpreter hears any 
complaints made by the newcomers and reports to the proper authorities, and it is his 
duty to look after the comfort of the immigrants and to see that their food and lodgings 
are Satisfactory. 

By a decree issued on the 28th of August, 1906, President Henrique da Silva Cou- 
tinho,—under whose administration the progress of the State is seen throughout every 
branch of the public service,—has divided the territory into five territorial districts, appointing 
to each a commission, composed of a chief engineer, assistant engineer, attorney, and clerks, 


PICTURESQUE APPROACH TO VICTORIA. 


whose duty it is to provide the government, through the Department of Public Works, with 
full information regarding the public lands of the State, their area, the nature of the soil 


474 THE NEW BRAZIL 


and climate, etc., in order that the necessary preparations for colonization and public 
improvements may be thereby facilitated. 

Recognizing the importance of good roads and increased railway transportation, the 
government has spared no effort to improve and extend the various means of communica- 
tion within the State, and rapid 
progress has been made in the 
construction of new highways 
and the extension of inter- 
state lines, such as the Victoria 
and Diamantina railway, which 
traverses the State from the 
port of Victoria, the capital, to 
the border of Minas Geraes, 
climbing the serra and cross- 
ing a fertile plateau on which 
are located several prosperous 
colonies. When this railway is 
completed to the diamond city, 
it will open up direct com- 
munication with some of the 
richest mining towns of the in- 
terior of Brazil, and will make 
Victoria the nearest seaport for 
the traffic of a vast section of 
: northern Minas, as well as of all 

A LAKE SCENE NEAR VICTORIA. the central districts of Espirito 

Santo. The recent completion 

of the Southern railway from Victoria to Cachoeiro de Itapemirim places the State capital in 
communication by rail with the neighboring State of Rio and with the Federal capital. 

While the work of railway construction is being pushed with vigor, the question of 
improving the harbor of Victoria is also occupying the attention of the chief authorities. 
The Federal government has undertaken the task of improving all the harbors of Brazil, 
and the required work in the port of Victoria will, it is estimated, cost one million pounds 
Sterling. The preliminary investigation has already been made. A bridge will connect the 
State capital, which is situated on an island, with the mainland at a point near the railway 
terminals of the two lines previously named, and an extensive system of docks and 
warehouses will be built on a foundation of solid rock. Victoria occupies an ideal loca- 
tion in one of the most picturesque harbors of Brazil. Though it has but a small popu- 
lation of twenty thousand, it is important not only as the capital of the State, but as one of 
the chief coffee exporting centres of Brazil. Viewed from the harbor it is a quaint-looking 


ESPIRITO SANTO 475 


city stretching along the shore and crowding close to the hills that lie behind it and encircle 
the island-dotted bay, which is one of nature’s masterpieces. Here and there the white 
walls and turrets of a historic old convent gleam among the trees or stand out in clear relief 
against the green background, adding the charm of tradition to that of natural beauty. In 
the opinion of many, the harbor of Espirito Santo is unrivalled, and though much smaller 
than that of Rio, it presents some picturesque effects that are not seen in the famous 
“Guanabara.” The trip up the harbor from its entrance to the port of Victoria, which is 
guarded by the Santa Luzia and Francez lighthouses, is a succession of scenic surprises, 
enchanting and romantic. Overhanging cliffs and sloping hillsides, verdant islets and 
Sheltered coves where sea fowl gather, unexpected turnings and narrow passages between 
vine-covered banks—the beauty of it all is indescribable. With the greater commerce which 
will inevitably result from the present increase of railways and the construction of new 
docks, Victoria will become a stopping place for steamers of all lines, and tourists will find 
here one of the most beautiful spots in the world. The authorities are putting forth every 
effort to improve the city and to make it the attractive place it ought to be, as the capital of 
a prosperous State. New pavements have been laid on the principal streets, the lighting, 
waterworks system, and drainage have been improved, and a street car line connects the 
business centre of the city with the suburbs. Among the chief public buildings are the presi- 
dent’s palace, the House of Congress, several churches, a theatre, and a hospital. 

Although Victoria is one of the oldest cities of Brazil, having been founded during the 
first half of the sixteenth century by the grantee of the capitania of Espirito Santo, Vasco 
Fernandes Coutinho, yet its progress and development were continually interrupted or 
retarded during the early years of its history, first by the Indians, who in this section were 
of a particularly ferocious nature, and later by the attacks of the Dutch, though these 
invaders were repeatedly defeated and were finally obliged to retire. It was not until 1800, 
under the administration of the first governor appointed by the crown, Antonio Pires da 
Silva Ponte Leme, that the town and the capitania entered on an era of peace and progress. 
When Brazil became an empire, Victoria was raised to the dignity of a city, the capital of a 
province; and in 1889, upon the proclamation of the republic, it was made the capital of the 
State of Espirito Santo. Along the route of the Southern railway are several growing towns, 
the most important being Itapemirim, the centre of a rich coffee growing district. It is built 
on both banks of the Itapemirim River, an iron bridge connecting the two divisions of the 
town. The population of the municipal district, which comprises a number of agricultural 
communities as well as the town itself, is twenty thousand. Cachoeiro is the largest town 
on the line of the Victoria and Diamantina railway, though all the colonies along this route 
are growing in wealth and importance. The plateaus of the interior, stretching for hundreds 
of leagues, offer grand opportunities for industrial development, and in the near future will 
undoubtedly be dotted with prosperous farming communities. Along the coast the chief 
towns are: Conceicao da Barra and Sado Matheus in the north, and Guarapary, Anchieta, and 
Benevente in the south. Benevente is.important as the last resting-place of the celebrated 


476 THE NEW BRAZIL 


Jesuit teacher Father Anchieta, who died there in 1597, after a life of wonderful devotion 
and self-sacrifice to the work of civilizing the Indians. 

When Espirito Santo became a State: of the Union, its constitution——promulgated on 
May 2, 1892,—was framed on liberal principles, in accord with the high purpose of the 
national government. Among other provisions, it guarantees free primary instruction, “the 
State to strive always for the improvement of educational conditions”; liberty of worship, 
so long as morals, customs, and public order are not offended, “the State recognizing that 
religion is the basis of social existence;” non-interference in any way in the propaganda of 
any faith, assuring liberty to all; freedom of the press and of public opinion; while aptitude, 
probity, and a good reputation are held to be the determining factors in the choice of a 
public official. The freedom accorded to municipalities under the constitution places them 
in a position to advance their interests untrammelled by repressive laws. The government 
is in the hands of executive, legislative, and judicial authorities, the president, who holds the 
chief executive power, being elected every four years by an absolute majority of votes and 
direct suffrage of the State. Congress is composed of twenty-five members elected for 
three years, and the judiciary consists of local judges and a court of justice, the latter having 
its seat in the capital of the State. 


PALHA, A SUBURB OF VICTORIA. 


THE ‘LIBRARY 
OF THE 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 


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WOOD-CARVING OF THE 


BAHIA. 


SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 


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INTERIOR OF THE FRANCISCAN CHURCH 


CHAPTER XXXV 


OLD CHURCHES AND SHRINES 


See the inauguration of the republic, 
Church and State have been separate in 
Brazil, and, though, as in all Latin countries, 
the prevailing religion is the Roman Catholic, 
yet absolute freedom of worship is assured 
to every citizen, and churches of all denomi- 
nations are found in the various cities and 
towns. The power and influence of the 
Catholic Church have lost nothing by the 
change, the more liberal conditions that exist 
under the republic having proved no obstacle 
to its growth and development. 
pee: : = A proof of the high esteem in which the 
SHRINE OF BOMFIM, BAHIA. Brazilian congregation is held by the Holy 
See was recently shown in the appointment 
of a Brazilian prelate to the sacred College of Cardinals. The honor thus conferred marks 
an epoch in the history of the Church in South America, as it is the first time that the red 
hat has been bestowed on one of its ecclesiastics. His Eminence Cardinal Arcoverde is a 
member of the distinguished Pernambucan family of Albuquerque Cavalcanti. He was 
Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro when appointed to the Sacred College, and his life has been 
consecrated to the service of the Church since his earliest years. At sixteen, he entered 
the Collegio Pio Latino-Americano at Rome, in the year 1866, to prepare for the priesthood, 
and even at that youthful age gave promise of the remarkable gifts which distinguish him 
as a prince of the Church. Through the devoted efforts of the eminent prelate many 
important reforms have been inaugurated in the Church in Brazil, institutions of charity 
have been reorganized and improved, and various church societies have been formed for 


purposes of Christian benevolence, to which His Eminence gives particular attention. He 
479 


480 THE NEW BRAZIL 


has been an honored personage in the councils of the Vatican on several occasions; in 1899, 
when the Latin-American Plenary Council met in Rome, he presided, as apostolic delegate, 
over the sessions of that venerable congress. 

Cardinal Arcoverde was consecrated a prince of the Holy Roman Church on the 14th of 
December, 1905, in the public consistory, when he received the cardinal’s hat; on the 
14th of January, 1906, he was invested with his title of St. Alexius, the ceremony being 
one of great solemnity. Even under the empire, when the Roman Catholic was the estab- 
lished church, Brazil was distinguished among all the Latin countries for its independence 
of church ruling in secular matters or when such ruling did not accord with the national 
view of religious affairs. On several occasions, measures were adopted by the State to 
curtail ecclesiastical authority; during the regency, it was once proposed to establish the 
Brazilian Church independent of Rome; and at another time, the papal nuncio in Brazil . 
was censured through the press for utterances not consistent with the dignity of his 
office; and when certain bishops tried to override the civil law by issuing decrees to 
forbid the burial of Freemasons, they were arrested, tried, and condemned to imprisonment, 
with hard labor. 

In early colonial days, however, the Church was almost absolute in power; its mission- 
aries exerted a widespread influence in the new country. The order of the Jesuits, which 
was founded just about the time of the first colonization of Brazil, sent out two apostles who 
devoted their lives to the cause of Christianity in this benighted land,—Father Nobrega and 
Father Anchieta; the story of their labors fills many an interesting page in Brazilian history, 
and may be read in some of the greatest institutions now flourishing in the name of charity, 
as well as in the ruins of edifices built centuries ago and dedicated to religious worship. 
The church which first served as the episcopal see in Brazil was built by these priests, and 
named the “Ajuda,” in the same year that the first governor-general, Thomé de Souza, 
landed in Bahia and founded the city. A few years later they began the construction of the 
first Jesuit college in America, which was endowed by King Dom Sebastian in 1564, though 
not completed until about ten years later. When Pombal expelled the Jesuits from Brazil, 
the college, by royal decree, was made a cathedral, and this prerogative was never with- 
drawn. The old edifice is one of the interesting sights of Bahia. 

In this city also is the chapel of Gracga; it was erected by Catherine Alvares Paraguassu, 
who made it over by deed of gift to the Benedictines in 1582; it was converted into a 
monastery, and rebuilt, nearly two centuries later, by Abbot Peixoto. An interesting story 
is related regarding the building of this chapel. It is said that upon the return of her 
husband, Caramurt, from a shipwrecked vessel where he had been rendering aid to the 
unfortunate, Paraguassu entreated him to go back and save a woman whom she had seen 
in a vision and who was at that moment among the Indians, praying that she would send 
for her and build her a place of shelter. Caramurd obediently set out in quest of the 
woman, but failing to find her after a third search, he was returning, quite discouraged, 
when his glance suddenly rested upon an image of the Virgin that an Indian had found on 


OLOSCUCRCHES@ANDESHRINES 481 


the shore and had thrown into a corner of his hut; this image Caramuri took home. 
Paraguassu was Satisfied with this fulfilment of her vision, and ordered the chapel to be 
built and the image to be placed therein, 
where it was greatly venerated as “Our Lady 
of Graca.” Paraguassu lies buried in this 
chapel, and the following epitaph still marks 
her last resting-place: 

“Tomb of Dona Catharina Alvares Para- 
guassu, Lady that was of the Capitania of 
Bahia, which she and her husband Diogo 
Alvares Corréa gave to the King of Portugal, 
having built this chapel of Nossa Senhora 
da Graca, which she gave, with the ground 
annexed, to the Patriarch Sao Bento, in the 
year 1582.” 

The ancient abbey of Montserrat, which 
is still one of the picturesque features of the 
neckland of Itapagipe, Bahia, was built early 
in the seventeenth century, though by whom 
is a mystery. Its origin is attributed by some 
authorities to a Spaniard, but this is also. said 
to apply to another abbey of Montserrat, in 
the town of Santos. One of the most im- 
portant of these early churches, from the 
magnificence of its present appearance, its HIS EMINENCE JOAQUIM ARCOVERDE, THE FIRST 

, ; CARDINAL IN SOUTH AMERICA. 

wonderfully ornamented interior, and the 

costliness of its gilded carvings is the Franciscan monastery of Bahia. It was built by 
Franciscan friars, the first of the Order having come from Portugal in 1585, in response 
to an invitation from the donatorio of Pernambuco, and, after founding the convent of 
Our Lady of Olinda, they removed to Bahia. The foundation stone of the present mon- 
astery was laid in 1686, and the building of the church in connection with it was 
begun in 1708 and finished in 1713. All the ornaments of the church were finished 
in 1723. The cloister is built with thirty-six arches, every pillar being made of a single 
stone. Around the walls are ornamental tiles representing scenes in ancient sacred and 
profane history. The wonderful carving in the interior of the church is the work of a 
Franciscan monk. 

The church has seven elaborately carved and gilded altars, on which, in accordance 
with the obligations of the Order, seven thousand three hundred and fifty-eight Masses 
were said every year until 1754. About fifty Franciscans lived in the monastery up to 
the year 1856, when the emperor prohibited the admission of novices, and the Order 


482 THE NEW BRAZIL 


declined until, in 1892, it was recruited by the arrival of several monks. At present, its 
occupants number thirty-five, among others the scholarly and courteous Friar Bahlmann, 
from whom the description of the monastery was obtained. The most remarkable feature 
of the building is the dado of Dutch tiles that surrounds the cloister, and which may be seen 
from the patio. Fabulous sums have been offered by curio hunters for these tiles, which 
are of Delft porcelain, each tile having been painted and finished separately, but so carefully 
that the general design was perfect when the tiles were placed in position. The tiles sur- 
rounding the lower walls represent a Succession of scenes from the works of Homer and 
other ancient writers, while those of the upper gallery represent Biblical scenes. It is 
probably the only work of the kind in existence in America. 

A shrine of great antiquity and interest is that of Bomfim, in the suburb of Itapagipe, 
Bahia, erected in 1754, and one of the most popular shrines in Brazil to-day. In it are 
preserved many curious relics and symbols, such as are found in similar churches in 
Europe. Although Bahia was the great centre of religious worship in earlier days, and is 
still the stronghold of the Catholic Church in Brazil, the erection of places of worship began 
simultaneously with the discovery of the country, in every territory of the dominion. In 
Rio de Janeiro many old churches still exist that were built in the seventeenth and eight- 
eenth centuries, as those of S40 Sebastido, Sado Bento, and the Candelaria. In Pernambuco, 
Sao Paulo, Ceara, and Maranhdo there are to be found several chapels that date from the 
eighteenth century. In every State of the Union church fiestas are celebrated, which are 
the survival of those earlier days, and preserve, in a wonderful degree, the traditions and 
history of their inauguration. The fiestas celebrated at Bomfim are renowned for their 
magnificence and for the thousands of participants who assemble on these occasions, when 
the devoutly religious practise the greatest humility, entering the sacred chapel on their 
knees and performing numerous rites that prove their desire to be rid of the sins of the 
flesh. A very picturesque fiesta is celebrated 
in Bahia by the donkey-drivers and water- 
carriers, who form a procession, sometimes a 
mile long, on their way to the church, the 
chief feature being the donkeys, which are 
gorgeously decorated with flowers and foliage. 

The most elaborate religious fiesta cele- 
brated at the present day in Brazil is that of 
“Nossa Senhora de Nazareth,” in the city 
of Para. It occurs in the month of October, 
and attracts thousands of visitors to the city, 


CHAPEL OF NOSSA SENHORA DA GRAGA, BAHIA, : D 
BUILIEY Bint ouicG: and lasts about two weeks, during which the 


place is given up to religious and social enter- 
tainments. The origin of this shrine and its attendant observances is similar to the history 
of other celebrated shrines throughout the world. It is described by various writers, and 


OLDECAHGRGHES AND” SHRINES 48 3 


related by the people of that region, without important deviations in the main points of the 
tradition. One day, about 
noon, two hunters, fatigued 
by their chase through the 
forests in the neighborhood 
of Para, sought rest under 
the shade of a tree. They 
were discontented and dis- 
gusted not to have found 
so much as a toucan in the 
woods where game of all 
kinds abounded. Their dogs, 
tired out like themselves, 
were stretched out under the 
same tree. In afew minutes 
they were asleep, overcome 
by exhaustion. During his 
sleep, one of the hunters 
was Visited in his dreams by 
a woman who spoke to him 
and told him to search a 
thicket close by, where he 
would find an image of the 
Virgin of Nazareth. On wak- 
ing, he went at once to the 
mysterious place, and while 
he searched the thicket, his 
dogs, plunging into the midst 
of a cluster of palms, began 
to bark excitedly. He ran to 
them, and to his great sur- 
prise discovered near the 
trunk of the oldest palm a 
beautiful statue. | Happier 
than if they had killed a 
thousand deer, the hunters 
took their way back to the 
town, carrying with them the 
glorious image, which they 
hastened to present to the - CHURCH OF THE CANDELARIA, RIO DE JANEIRO. 


484 THE NEW BRAZIL 


governor, who placed it in the chapel of his palace. The news of this discovery spread 
throughout the town. The faithful prayed the governor to expose to the veneration of the 
people this sacred image of Our Lady, the patron of the town, and it was decided that the next 
day the doors of the chapel should be opened to the public. But, alas! the next day, when 
they opened the chapel, the image had disappeared. The poor hunters who had started the 
news were grieved because they feared they would be taken for liars. They went again to 
the thicket, and were overjoyed to find the statue in the same spot where they had first seen 
it. The governor and the people also went to the thicket, and the image was taken back to 
the palace with great pomp. The next day it had disappeared again, and again they found 
it in the same place and carried it back to the town. Three or four times the same miracle 
took place. Then the bishop, with the consent of the governor, decided that they should 
erect a little chapel on the spot where they had found the statue and place it therein. The 
chapel was built, and the altar marked the location of the mysterious bush. The faithful 
gathered from all parts. Miracles were so numerous that soon the little chapel was replaced 
by a large church, with a covered vestibule for pilgrims. Every year afterward, great popular 
pilgrimages celebrated the fiesta of the Virgin of Nazareth. The pilgrimage is still continued 
to this day, though the forest has been transformed into broad avenues and the shrine is 
situated in a fashionable quarter of a large city which has grown up around it. Each year, 
in remembrance of the ancient miracle, the holy image is carried from the chapel of the 
president’s palace to the church of Nazareth. Everyone takes part in this procession; some, 
it is true, out of curiosity or to enjoy the spectacle, but many out of religious fervor, desirous 
of offering public proofs of their gratitude to the holy Virgin, to whose intercession they 
attribute miraculous cures, or a rescue from death, or whose answers to their prayers for 
loved ones in danger have wrought miracles in their behalf. First in the procession is a car, 
representing a fortress, from which fireworks and rockets are exploded with great éclat. 
Then follows a cavalcade, and next in line a series of floats, which represent miracles 
performed by Our Lady of Nazareth, and these in turn are followed by horsemen 
bearing bright oriflammes with the dates of miracles and the names under which these 
miracles are known. Carriages, filled with members of the best families in the city, are a 
conspicuous feature of the procession, the last of these being the coach of the governor, 
accompanied by his secretary and his aide-de-camp, who are followed by the bishop. The 
procession closes with a fairy-like coach, shaped something like a royal crown, all purple 
and gold, in the centre of which stands the venerated image of the Holy Virgin. The coach 
is guarded on both sides by the directors of the fiesta, and the populace, taking hold of the 
long ribbons of red silk attached to the vehicle, draw it along with great respect and venera- 
tion, esteeming it a great honor to have this privilege. Many interesting instances of devotion 
are presented at these processions. Sometimes delicately nurtured women will follow in the 
long line of worshippers, having their feet bare and wearing a gown of sackcloth or other 
coarse material. Some enthusiasts have been known to crawl on their knees the whole 
distance from the palace to the chapel, about a mile. The city garrison, artillery and infantry, 


OLD CHURCHES AND SHRINES 485 


end the procession proper, though an interminable throng follows, crowding and pushing, 
to get a sight of the image, or to receive the bishop’s blessing as his coach stops now and 
then in the course of the march. 
Each of these followers carries 
an offering for the altar em- 
blematic of the nature of the 
particular cure for which there 
is special reason to be grateful 
to the blessed Virgin. It may be 
a wax arm, showing in ghastly 
red where a mortal wound had 
been made, and signifying that 
the bearer had been miraculously 
saved from the fatal effects of a 
terrible injury to the arm. Wax 
heads, spotted in red to indicate 
eruptions, or little wax figures 
covered with an imitation of CHURCH OF NOSSA SENHORA DE NAZARETH, PARA. 
Small-pox marks, typify the 
particular form of disease overcome through the intercession of Our Lady of Nazareth. So 
dense is the throng during this procession, and so frequent are the delays, that it often 
requires three or four hours for it to pass a certain point. The best view is always to be 
had on the Avenida da Republica, where the crowd is thickest, the street broadest, and the 
delay most prolonged. During the remaining days of the fiesta, there are daily amusements 
of all sorts, the fund collected going into the treasury of the church for charitable purposes. 
At Cuyaba, in the province of Matto Grosso, the fiestas of Pentecost are sumptuously 
Opserved=sluerdirector of the testa is chosen by lots On the eve oivthe day to be 
celebrated, he sallies forth accompanied by a band of music and some friends, and carrying 
the insignia of his office,—a silver crown, sceptre, and banner.. He goes to solicit offerings, 
which usually amount to about a thousand dollars, sometimes more. -The day of the 
ceremony, this leader, who takes the title of Emperor, proceeds to the church in the centre 
of a square made by four planks of wood, the ends of which are carried on the shoulders of 
the most distinguished personages of the town; on a silver plate the sceptre and crown are 
borne, the banner preceding the procession. In the evening, there is a grand illumination, 
including fireworks, extending all along the route from the door of the church to that of the 
“Emperor,” where a rich altar is raised. After the religious ceremony, there is a free distribu- 
tion of food and drink for the poor, and even small cakes for everybody. The authorities 
receive special gifts, consisting of immense cakes ornamented with flowers and ribbons. 
Then there are bull fights, balls, plays,—everything at the expense of the “Emperor,” who 
sometimes pays aS much as two thousand dollars or more for the entertainment. At 


486 THE NEV SBRAZIL 


Cuyaba, it is said, the episcopal church possesses a miraculous image of the “Senhor Bom 
Jesus.” It was found on the island of Manoel-Homem, on the Rio Grande, two hundred 
and twenty-five leagues from the capital where it is worshipped to-day. The island takes 
its name from a noted criminal, Manoel Homem, who took refuge there. He found there 
the sacred image, and guarded it with devotion. After several efforts to remove it, it finally 
reached its present place of honor in the cathedral. 

The chapel of “Senhor dos Passos,” in Florianopolis, Santa Catharina, has an interesting 
history, and its fiestas are attended with great religious demonstrations. It was built in 1765 
by Donna Joanna de Gusmao, a sister of the renowned aéronaut, in accordance with a vow 
made while on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Neves, on the shores of the 
Izuape River, where she was miraculously cured of a dreadful illness. Donna Joanna made 
a pilgrimage on foot, and unattended, throughout the whole of southern Brazil, seeking alms 
with which to build this chapel and to institute the Sisterhood of the Passos, until, at the 
age of eighty, her pilgrimage having succeeded in its purpose, she became the directress of 
the institution, where she died in 1780. 

But although the observance of traditional religious customs remains to a certain extent, 
there is a growing and widespread freedom of sentiment. At present, the attitude of the 
government and the people is one of the greatest tolerance, even encouragement, to all reli- 
gious institutions, regardless of creed. Handsome churches of all denominations have been 
erected in the larger cities, and there is scarcely a village without schools and hospitals 
under the charge of more than one denomination. In southern Brazil the Protestant 
Episcopal Church has more than five hundred communicants, and is growing in strength 
and influence through the zealous labors of its honored bishop, Right Reverend Lucien Lee 
Kinsolving, S.T.D., who was chosen for this position by the American House of Bishops 
and consecrated in Saint Bartholomew’s Church, New York, January 6, 1899. The Presby- 
terian Church is well represented in the principal cities, and the Methodists have many 
churches and schools. 


RUINS OF CARMELITE CONVENT IN OLINDA, PERNAMBUCO. 


L°ENVOI 


HOEVER has visited Brazil and 
learned to appreciate its many 
attractions, the glories of its scenery and 
the charm of its kind and gracious people, 
can understand very well the feeling of 
regret with which one bids adieu, whether 
from the deck of an outgoing steamer, or, 
in imagination, upon laying aside, at the 
last chapter, the pen which has been 
agreeably occupied in recording pleasant 
recollections. 

There is a word which Brazilians 
love, for the associations it recalls, the 
deep meaning it expresses, and the fact 
that it has no equivalent in any other 
tongue: saudade. It embodies all the 
words in the English language that con- 
vey the idea of homesickness, loving 
remembrance of absent ones, fond recol- 
lections of past experiences, regrets at 
parting, love, friendship, sympathy,—it 

A POND OF VICTORIA REGIA LILIES. reaches the gamut of a thousand tender 

; Sentiments of regard and devotion,—it is 

the only word in any language which gives to speech the unabridged vocabulary of the 

heart. And this word rises involuntarily to the lips as the gaze of the departing traveller 

rests for the last time on those beautiful shores, and the farewell hand clasp is given 

to those gentle people whose hospitality, like their country, is an expression of all that is 
beautiful, genial, and abundant. 


487 


488 THE NEW BRAZIL 


What land compares with Brazil in beauty and natural wealthe From the Guianas to 
La Plata and from the Andes to the sea, Nature here revels in the joy of perfect abandon. 
Her beauty is bewitchingly revealed in the graceful curves of sunlit hills, her smile allures 
in the favoring mirror of matchless rivers, her brow is decked with the rich and variegated 
garland of prismatic forests, on her breast glows the iridescent lustre of countless birds 
and butterflies of uncommon beauty. She is a reigning queen in this summer land, and 
her court is perennially gay and brilliant. Her manifold attractions present unlimited 
aspects, varying in every possible degree from the equatorial luxuriance of the Amazon 
plain to the rugged severity of the southern serras. Preeminent in picturesque grandeur, 
the island-gemmed and summit-crowned bay of Rio appeals to the worshipper of 
Nature with an irresistible fascination. Surpassing Naples and rivalling the claims 
of Sydney, it ranks among the most famous harbors. The painter’s inspiration and the 
poet’s ecstasy have found in its enchanting beauty a subject worthy of the best labor of 
the most exalted genius. 

When the brief twilight of the tropics softens the effect of the general outlines of 
the bay, and a “dim religious light” hallows it, giving a cathedral-like aspect to the picture, 
its sublimity is most impressive. In solemn stateliness the gigantic Pao de Assucar guards 
the vestibule of this sanctuary of the gods; the surrounding hills support on their lofty 
peaks its celestial dome; under the shadow of their mighty columns, the great city, with 
its myriad tapers, lights up a magnificent altar; far back in the darker recesses the huge 
organ-pipes of the Serra dos Orgaos suggest the sublime harmonies that Pythagoras 
might have fancied in “the music of the spheres”; above all, pointing heavenward, as if 
to indicate the Infinite Source of so noble a creation, the Dedo de Deus [Finger of God] 
seems to call upon all the world to bow in reverence before the majesty and power of 
the Divine Author. 

Upon the first approach to the harbor of Rio, the attention is attracted to “the 
Sleeping giant,” a colossal figure outlined by the mountain summits against the sky, 
and recalling in its clear-cut profile the lineaments of the great father of American 
liberty. It is formed partly by the suburban hills of Rio and partly by the peaks of the 
Serra dos Orgaos, in the midst of which lies the charming city of Theresopolis. The 
city is reached through a great gap in the range, from which a panorama presents itself 
that in picturesque variety beggars description. The traveller who has enjoyed the scene 
can never forget the thrill of emotion excited by a first glimpse of the Brazilian Trosachs 
from this “airy point,” when, stretched out below, the splendid harbor 


“In all her length far-winding lay 
With promontory, creek, and bay, 
And islands that empurpled bright 
Floated amid the livelier light, 

And mountains that like giants stand 
To sentinel enchanted land.’’ 


L’ENVOI 489 


Nearer, the wild, rugged beauty of lichen-covered rocks and leaping cascades, huge granite 
masses of fantastic shape hanging over narrow cliffs, and fossil débris blocking fathomless 
abysses, further recalls Scott’s famous description of the Trosachs, with 


‘Crags, knolls, and mounds confusedly hurled, 
The fragments of an earlier world.” 


In some respects more interesting than the road to Theresopolis is the picturesque 
ascent of the Serra da Estrella, in the valley of which, at a height of three thousand feet, is 
Situated the beautiful city of Petropolis, so often called the Versailles of the Brazilian capital, 
and especially noted as the summer home of the foreign diplomatic corps in Brazil. It has 
been the chosen place of residence of many distinguished foreigners who have visited 
Brazil, and few cities in any country have more claims to agreeable remembrance. Although 


AFTER THE HUNT. 


the recent transformation of Rio promises the permanent removal of the foreign legations 
to the Federal capital, yet the charm of its past glory will long remain to give this mountain 
city a unique individuality. It was here that some of the most elaborate social functions 
were held during the empire, when the court spent several months of the year in its summer 
palaces, set like jewels among the hills; and here from the inauguration of the republic 
society has shone in its most radiant form and finest attire at various entertainments of 
leading statesmen and diplomats. Those who were privileged to enjoy the diplomatic 
courtesies of a few years ago can never forget the charming hospitality dispensed by 
Colonel Charles Page Bryan, now American minister to Portugal, when, as chief of the 
American legation in Petropolis, he was one of the most widely known and best beloved of 
all the foreigners in Brazil, and did much toward awakening in the people of the United 
States a better understanding of Brazilian life and progress. It was his frequent prediction 
that the twentieth century would see the aggrandizement of Brazil to rank among the greatest 
nations of modern times, and events point to the speedy realization of his confident belief. 


490 THE NEW BRAZIL 


But even the bay of Rio, with its capital and the beautiful environs that make it an 
ideal social resort, does not represent all that there is of natural wonder and enchantment 
in Brazilian scenery; nor do the social customs and prevailing ideas of one locality reflect 
the life of the entire nation. There is variety in every feature, no less in the character of 
the people than in the appearance of the scenery, according to the influences which govern 
them. The serras and cataracts of the central and southern region awaken the enthusiastic 
admiration of every visitor to Brazil; but they are not more picturesque and wonderful than 
the great waterfall of the Sado Francisco River, the magnificent harbor of Bahia, and the 
approach to Recife, with its natural breakwater, against which the great waves dash 
incessantly, and break in clouds of fleecy foam. In striking contrast to the barred entrance 
to Pernambuco is the broad open bay, or estuary, of Para, the memory of which imme- 
diately recalls the curious sailing craft that dot the harbor, and are known as “vampiros” 
from the shape and size of their sails, red, blue, yellow, green, or brown, according to 
the owner’s fancy. Recollection easily brings to view also the Amazon region and its 
varying scenes; the ponds in which grow the wonderful Victoria Regia lilies; the forests 
aglow with bright-plumaged araras, parrots, and the great toucan, which has a beak half 
a foot long and two inches wide, and which chews the cud as complacently as any of the 
bovine species. 

Hunting is one of the favorite sports in Brazil, and the chase offers many remarkable 
features to the foreign hunter. Duck shooting is plentiful in the southern States; along 
the Rio Doce, tapir-hunting is rare sport; and everywhere angling attracts its votaries. 

Social life in the various latitudes that are comprised in this vast country is marked by 
certain characteristics which are as indicative of the climate and locality as are the different 
features of the landscape. The effect of a mingling of nationalities is seen in every State of 
the Union, although, until the beginning of the nineteenth century, Portugal permitted no 
foreign immigration into Brazil, sending every year large colonies from her own territory to 
establish themselves in the new province and increase the power and influence of the 
mother country. But as soon as the foreigners gained a foothold, their presence was felt in 
the national life and progress, and consequently in the national temper. The Germans have 
given to the extreme south of Brazil certain manners and customs that distinguish it from 
other sections; where Italian colonization has predominated, the characteristics of that 
nationality have gradually influenced the existing civilization; French modes and fashions 
have been engrafted on the social life of Brazil wherever the relations between these two 
countries have been most noticeable, particularly in Rio de Janeiro; though, everywhere 
the salient characteristics of the Brazilian character, intuition, and imagination are inherited 
from the three predominating sources of the population: the Portuguese, the Indian, and 
the African. 

Among the Brazilians, the emotional qualities which belong essentially to the poetic 
children of southern climes are associated with the more intellectual traits that find 
expression in ready wit, delicate perception, and imaginative power. The Brazilians are 


LPENVO!I . 491 


pleasing conversationalists, and understand well the art of entertaining. They are, as a 
rule, very conservative and exclusive; but within the domestic circle, the hospitality is 
charming and the association most agreeable. The home life of Brazil is beautiful in 


A CONTENTED SON OF THE FOREST. 


its unity and harmony. Divorces are unknown, and there are very few bachelors 
in the land, facts which argue great confidence in the home-making abilities of Brazilian 
girls and pay a graceful compliment to their womanly qualities. An educated and 
well-bred Brazilian woman of the best society speaks three or four languages, and it is 
not unusual to find her familiar with half a dozen; as a rule, she has enjoyed the 
advantages of foreign travel, and is a graduate of an excellent school in Paris or Lisbon. 
Music is a social accomplishment that always forms an important feature in a young 
Brazilian girl’s education. 

Family connections are held in high esteem in Brazil, and birthday reunions are impor- 
tant functions; the “birthday book” is one of the most valued possessions of a Brazilian 
household, and in it is kept a faithful record of the birthday anniversaries of all relatives, 
friends, and acquaintances. It is unpardonable, in Brazil, to forget the anniversary of 
a friend’s birthday, or neglect to extend congratulations and felicitations upon so happy an 
occasion. Usually a “card” appears in the newspaper, expressing the good wishes of some 
friend in the most complimentary language, or a poem written by an enthusiastic admirer 
who takes this opportunity to declare his devotion, and dedicates the effusion to the queen 
of his heart in honor of her natal day. 

Brazilian children are not like the emancipated nestlings that hold the reins in the 
average North American household; they are gentle, reserved, obedient little folk, with a 
reverence for the older relatives that is most attractive, especially as expressed in the 


492 THE NEW BRAZIL 


prevailing custom by which the children of each generation kiss the hand of the older in 
salutation; no matter what the age or position, this courtesy is observed, the father of a 
grown-up family bending over his mother’s hand in the same respectful attitude that 
marks his own children’s greetings. The most thoughtless of play-loving romps will 
not fail in the observance of this rule; and if an aunt or other relative appear on the 
scene in the midst of their games, the children stop playing, and run to pay their 
devoirs in this way. When grown people meet each other, their greeting is an embrace, 
whether in the house or on the street; and in the rush of business affairs, the sight of 
men hugging one another in cordial good-will is a continual reminder of the brotherhood 
of humanity, and must surely help to keep the heart warm in its sympathies and tender in 
its attachments. ) 

The foreigner in Brazil observes many customs that are different from anything seen 
at home. Sometimes he counts them as defects, criticising only from one point of view, 
and failing to recognize that the differences due to national characteristics are not neces- 
sarily faults, either in the Latin or the Anglo-Saxon. But if his purpose be to learn 
something of the land and its people, he will find much that is both interesting and 
attractive, and will carry away souvenirs that cannot fail to call to mind long afterward 


A GOOD DAY’S SPORT, TAPIR HUNTING IN THE RIO DOCE COUNTRY 


many agreeable reminiscences. It is very pleasant to recall the delightful everyday life 
of a Brazilian home. 

The day begins with the cup of coffee, and the beverage is to be had at any hour 
of the twenty-four. Coffee is served every day in the Chambers, when Congress is 


L’ENVOI 493 


in session; it is offered as a mark of courtesy to distinguished guests, when received by 
State officials or church dignitaries; in private houses it is never omitted, whether the occa- 
Sion be an informal call or an important social function; from the President’s palace to the 
humblest home in the land, the universal custom is to offer a demi-fasse of café noir. In 
the offices of professional men, it is not unusual to have coffee served to clients, especially 
during a long and important interview. Members of the different professions in Brazil are 
distinguished by a jewelled ring worn on the index finger, a lawyer wearing the garnet, 
a doctor of medicine the emerald, a pharmacist the topaz, and a doctor of engineering 
the sapphire. 

The life of the country people is very simple, especially among the poorer classes, 
who, however, seem quite content with their modest possessions, and happy, so long as 
there is farinha to eat and wine to drink; for no family is too poor to afford these Brazilian 
necessaries. Farinha is to them what flour is to the North Americans, and is used in as 
many different preparations of food. The drink of the poor as well as the rich, at meals, is 
wine, the quality, of course, varying according to the means of the purchaser; the servant 
in the kitchen of a family is allowed wine with meals, though drinking at any other time of 
the day is not customary, the Brazilians being a very temperate people, and drunkenness 
practically unknown among them. In some districts they still refer to one of their com- 
rades who has been drinking too much, and is intoxicated, as ‘bem Inglez,” which means 
“quite English.” The amusements of the poorer classes are principally of a sentimental 
character, some of the native dances being very popular at their “fiestas,” as is also the 
music of their modinhas, or ballads. The “lundu” is a dance of negro origin, which is 
known in all parts of the country. The song that accompanies it is teasing, impudent, 
and daring, with frequent appeals to Saint Anthony, who is the accepted guardian of the 
negro’s affairs. 

Most pleasing of all to one who loves Brazil is the return after a few years’ absence to 
find that optimistic prophecies have been more than fulfilled, and that the country and its 
twenty-five million people have awakened universal interest, foreign powers recognizing as 
never before the high destiny in evidence for this great nation. Statesmen who have 
visited Brazil and studied its political and social conditions are united in expressions of 
confidence regarding its promising future. Hon. John Barrett, the Director of the Inter- 
national Bureau of American Republics, is enthusiastic over the progress this country has 
made in recent years, and his residence in South America especially qualifies him to speak 
with authority. Every foréign visitor of distinction has words in praise of the social qualities 
of the Brazilian people. Courtesy finds its gentlest expression here; hospitality knows no 
more congenial atmosphere; and there does not exist in all the world a better example 
of what politeness signifies than is to be seen in the manner and speech of a typical 
Brazilian lady or gentleman. 

The inspired patriot and poet exile who pined in foreign countries for a glimpse of his 
own beautiful blue skies gives the fairest picture of her charms in the Song of the Exile, 


404 THE NEW BRAZIL 


which has been translated into English by an exile from another land; the full significance 
of its beautiful and touching sentiment is felt by everyone who knows and loves Brazil: 


‘* Mine is the country where the palm trees rear 
Their stately heads toward the azure sky, 
And where, in accents ever soft and clear, 
The sabia sings her hymn of melody; 
Here, in my exile, say what warblers rare 
Can with the sabia’s notes their own compare? 


*“Our skies are strewn with stars, our fields with flowers, 
Our woods resound with bird and insect life, 
Our life’s a dream of love in fairy bowers, 
Where -Nature’s lavish gifts are ever rife: 
Bright land of palms! where the sweet sabia sings, 
The exile’s heart to thee still fondly clings.” 


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